UNWTO director for Africa calls on President Ramkalawan   |13 August 2021

Mrs Grandcourt flanked by President Ramkalawan and Minister Radegonde (Photo: Joena Meme)

United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) director for Africa, Elsie Grandcourt, yesterday paid a courtesy call on President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House during which they discussed tourism within the age of the pandemic and in moving forward.

Also present during the meeting was the Minister for Tourism and Foreign Affairs, Sylvestre Radegonde.

Ms Grandcourt, former chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), extended, on behalf of the secretary general of the UNWTO Zurab Pololikashvili, an invitation to President Ramkalawan to visit the UNWTO headquarters in Spain.

With regard to tourism, Ms Grandcourt said that with the pandemic, innovation is imperative to attract visitors and boost travel confidence. 

She recognised the strides made by Seychelles to reopen its borders, and efforts to keep both visitors and the local population protected from Covid-19.

“As you know, Seychelles has been a member of UNWTO since 1991, and we have always had a good relationship with Seychelles as a destination. Tourism in general, around the globe, with the pandemic has suffered a major blow. Especially the year 2020, was the worst one for all of us. But I see that Seychelles has made some firm but good decisions. For instance the vaccination programme which has commenced, the protocols in place around the islands in tourism establishments, and the tourists who have had the confidence to return to Seychelles,” she commented.

“Of course, we see that the type of tourism is different in terms of the destinations, as it is not coming from our source markets. That is the reason why many countries are working hard at the moment, to see where they can attract other clientele to visit their destinations. But it is important that we are always showing good practices, because the key message that our secretary general is always asserting is that we need to establish confidence. For people to travel they need to feel safe, before they step on the plane. At the same time, they want to know what is being done to keep them safe and secure at the destination to which they are travelling,” Ms Grandcourt stated.

As the pandemic keeps evolving, it is essential that destinations adapt. Differentiating between Seychelles and others in the region, Ms Grandcourt noted that many countries are still unable to open their borders and allow visitors in, on account of the situation in their respective countries.

“If we consider within the region, Mauritius itself has not had its grand reopening because it is also faced with its challenges. But the good news is that each time a country reopens, others can learn from their experience and adopt good practices to keep sustaining the industry, because we only realised the force and value of the industry during the pandemic,” she added.

Also during the meet, Ms Grandcourt presented the congratulations of the secretary general to President Ramkalawan on winning the 2020 general elections.

Laura Pillay