Economic Forum meets President Faure |05 March 2020
The forum delegation during their meeting with President Faure (Photo: Joena Meme)
How is COVID-19 impacting the world and Seychelles in terms of tourism and health?
A delegation from the economic forum, including the health sector, tourism department, the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Seychelles Tourism Board, met President Danny Faure yesterday for an update on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus).
Present at the meeting were Vice-President Vincent Meriton, Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Didier Dogley; the Public Health Commissioner, Dr Jude Gedeon; the Governor of the Central Bank, Caroline Abel; the chief executive of Seychelles Tourism Board, Sherin Francis; the principal secretary for finance, Damien Thesée; and the principal secretary for tourism, Anne Lafortune.
Talking to the press after the meeting, Dr Gedeon explained that the main reason for the meeting was to see how the COVID-19 has impacted the world and Seychelles in terms of tourism and health.
“In terms of health measures, I was able to update the President and the different departments on the measures that are already in place. We keep on reinforcing our systems, be it on the surveillance or training side. Yesterday (Tuesday) we had an exercise with DRDM to practice a drill life response. When there is an outbreak, you never stop preparing yourself until the outbreak is finished. Additional measures are taken when we see the situation getting worse around the world. At this moment in time, nothing more is being added and we remain on the alert. We are trying to discourage large crowds rallying, we are also advising people not to travel if there is no emergency and our control system at the airport and port has been increased.”
It stays a fact that in hot countries, the virus is not developing/propagating. But still all countries are preparing themselves as asked by the WHO. Dr Gedeon advises people not to believe everything that the commercial media is propagating but instead find out the information through proper sources such as the Ministry of Health and WHO.
Minister Dogley stated that within the ministry there is already a risk management division that is dealing with the situation. “This section is working very closely with the Ministry of Health and all press releases from the MOH are being shared with the hotels and guest houses. Personally, I am also in contact with Dr Gedeon. But in order for more people to understand and read the press releases, we are summarising the press releases in easier terms. Among other measures we are taking are helping the staff to understand how to protect themselves while dealing with a suspected case. We are also promoting to choose another way to greet the guests and also talk about the hygiene level expected in the tourism establishments. We will make sure that all hotels and small establishments are being informed about all these guidelines. For now we do not have any suspected case, and we are maintaining the movements of the tourists on our islands. As we are a hot country, the clients are able to enjoy their holidays.”
Regarding the conferences happening in Seychelles and having international delegates, the minister added that “there is no point cancelling the conferences, but we have to make sure from where the delegates are coming from. The situation is still evolving and if we receive any advice from the Ministry of Health, definitely we will have to take some decisions”.
The minister also noted that Air Seychelles is automatically reviewing its flights and cancelling some flights. “Already four flights to South Africa and one flight from Mauritius have been cancelled due to lack of passengers. Depending on the situation, if there is no demand, the airlines will have to adjust as we have seen a big decrease in passengers,” explained the minister.
The same measures apply to cruises and luxury boats.
CBS Governor Abel reiterated the fact that together with the Ministry of Finance they are doing an assessment to look at the impact of COVID-19 on the economy as a whole. “The work is ongoing and we hope that by mid-march we will be able to present the findings to the public and the institutions. As said in February, there will be a negative impact on the economy, if the health situation is prolonged. Already we can see the impact on the numbers of international passengers. In countries where there are cases of the COVID-19, production of commodities is being affected. Now in Seychelles, we have to look at all the different factors that might affect us and look into different scenarios and see what actions can be taken by different agencies and how this information can be shared to the government and the public. No matter what the circumstances are, as a country we always have to think and reflect on this kind of possibility. All countries in the world are doing this assessment and we have to try our best for Seychelles to be impacted the less,” explained Ms Abel.
PS Thésée also added that the role of the Ministry of Finance is to look at different scenarios and analysis. “When we are discussing with STB, we are recording a decrease in the arrival of tourists from Italy and China. Automatically this will have an impact on the different layers in our economy. As we Seychelles import most of our consumable commodities, it might have an impact on price and also on the exchange rates. With the different analysis, we will be able to implement different measures to help mitigate the effects. At this time there is no need for any adjustments to be made, but we have to make provision if the situation worsens.”
To conclude, Mrs Francis from STB said that “STB is working on its messages to the different markets where there are direct flights in order to encourage those who still want to go on holiday. We are marketing Seychelles as a tropical island and so far they are safe so that we can compensate for the loss on other markets. It is a fact that Seychelles is a country who depends heavily on tourism and we cannot close our borders. Closing our country is a drastic measure and we are monitoring all the information. We are trying to encourage clients that have access to direct flights and we are trying to use positive words to attract the tourists. As and when we receive new information, we will adjust our messages.”
Vidya Gappy