Seychelles makes appearance at virtual ‘WOW! Hospitality Trends Summit 2020’- Africa 2020 |02 December 2020
The Seychelles islands joined African leaders in the tourism industry to help pave the path towards recovery at the WOW! Hospitality Trends Summit 2020 (WHTS Africa 1.0) on November 24, 2020.
Joining an interesting discussion titled ‘Rebranding the Continent as a hot tourism destination’, led by renowned hospitality keynote speaker Dolores Semeraro, Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) chief executive Sherin Francis conversed alongside her counterparts from the continent namely; the chief executive of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa, Lee Zama, the chairperson of the African Tourism Board, Cuthbert Ncube and the chief executive of the Cape Town Tourism, Enver Duminy.
During the discussions, Mrs Francis shared the island destination’s experience and strategy for the recovery of its tourism industry and its contribution to restart the promotion of tourism in the region.
Mrs Francis provided strong evidence on the important role played by stakeholders from the government and the private sector through consultation and collaboration to put the destination back on its feet.
She further highlighted the commitment of the destination towards safe tourism and how fundamental it has been to the local authorities’ and local tourism industry’s recovery strategy.
The summit’s central objective was to create a roadmap to the hospitality recovery, uniting a network of hospitality leaders to tackle the challenges faced by the hospitality and tourism sector brought about by these unprecedented times.
The rebirth of hospitality is dependent on unity within the industry, hence the importance of these summits.
Speaking about the destination’s involvement at the WOW! Hospitality Trends Summit 2020’ -Africa 2020, Mrs Francis mentioned that aside from the exchange of knowledge and experiences to find a way forward for the industry, the event was a successful opportunity for networking, creating new partnerships for future collaborations which is essential during these times where financial resources are scarce and unity is vital.
“At a time when there are so much uncertainties with travel, collaboration with countries in the region and the continent is even more needed. The pandemic has provided us with a chance to establish these synergies and the time is now to act. Collaboration, networking, building on each other’s strength within the region is one of the keys for the much-needed recovery,” said Mrs Francis.
The summit carries hope for the future of the industry as it displays industry leaders’ enthusiasm to unify and join forces to face the challenges ahead.
Organised by Ryen Martyn Events Private Limited, the two-day virtual event banded together over 100 hoteliers, 200 construction professionals and project holders as well as various honourable speakers across the African region.
Press release from the Seychelles Tourism Board