Alain St Ange - Simply the best! |26 October 2023

In 1981 when 27-year-old Alain St Ange was deputy director of the newly established Seychelles Tourist Board, the logo of the Seychelles tourism industry was ‘Unique by a Thousand Miles’.

A total number of 60,425 visitors arrived in Seychelles during that year. A decade later, in 1991, arrival figures increased to reach a milestone 100,000 mark. That was eight years after Air Seychelles had launched its international operations. In 2012 when he was appointed Minister for Tourism and Culture, Mr St Ange was also appointed president of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands regional organisation which he had co-founded. The Vanilla islands or ‘Les Iles Vanille’ formed a new travel destination brand to promote and to market the region, comprising Seychelles, Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius, Comoros and Mayotte, as a combined tourism destination. This organisation is actually the successor of Alliance Tourism Ocean Indien which had been established in 1967.

In June 2015, the 22nd World Travel Awards ceremony was held at the Kempinski Resort, Baie Lazare. That this most prestigious event happened on his ‘watch’ redounded to his wise conviction that Seychelles should take part on the International arena and that Seychelles clinched the three most coveted trophies testified to the minister’s confidence in the potential of Seychelles as an international playground for holiday makers.

As Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St Ange encouraged and promoted various calendar activities that magnified Seychelles’ visibility on the world map, particularly the ‘Carnival de Victoria’ which he had spearheaded in 2011 when he was chief executive of STB (Seychelles Tourism Board). This annual event which animated the month of April with boisterous glee and excitement saw the involvement of floats from all corners of the globe. Yes, Global is the perspective from which Alain had always viewed Seychelles as a holiday destination, meaning he wanted all nations of the world – from Austrians to Zambians – to discover the Seychelles experience.

Worldwide recognition for Alain St Ange’s indefatigable commitment and tenacity of purpose is the staggering number of accolades, awards and honours that he has accumulated during his ‘Life in Tourism’, the latest of which is the ‘Man of the year 2023/2024 award’ which was bestowed on him by the African and Asian Union in Egypt on October 17, 2023 a mere seven months after he received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in March this year.

Pascal Viroleau’s biography of Alain St. Ange aptly entitled ‘A life in Tourism’ which was launched in Bali on September 29, 2023 tells us about the life of a man who, if the neologism is correct, must be the most ‘tourified’ person affiliated with the Seychelles tourism industry. His involvement in practically all aspects of the tourism industry cannot be adequately summed up. In fact, one does not have to rake the Thesaurus for superlatives to describe him – his name has become a hallmark or a synonym for ‘excellence’. If someone tells you that you are an Alain St Ange in your profession, you should be exceedingly proud!

This biography is a tapestry of events and achievements, and yes daring attempts and dismal failures of the boy from La Digue who once handled tourists’ luggage at his family’s small establishment ‘Cabane des Anges’ and almost became the secretary general of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) in 2017 and got to be awarded the ‘Man Of The Year 2023/2024 for Travel and Tourism’.

Let’s agree to say that this elaborately and copiously illustrated biography of our former minister of tourism and culture will inspire more than a few of us to aspire to become an Alain St Angein our specialised field.

By Tony Mathiot