Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport briefs members of SHTA on development strategy of civil aviation.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport Joël Morgan welcomed members of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association (SHTA) to Maison Quéau de Quinssy on Monday, 27th April 2015 as a follow up meeting after the announcement that the national carrier-Air Seychelles would be commencing direct flights into Paris, Charles de Gaulle as of 1 July 2015.The meeting provided for Minister Morgan in his capacity as Minister for Transport to engage with representatives of the hospitality and tourism trade to address numerous issues facing the industry pertaining to civil aviation.
The realization of the meetings now being held between Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Transport and the SHTA comes as result of recommendations made at the last High Level Inter Ministerial Meeting (on Tourism) chaired by the Vice President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. Danny Faure.
Mr Freddy Kakaria, Chairman of the SHTA expressed his concern on the perceived ‘disconnects’ that the trade has been observing between the various stakeholders, and had advocated for a more focused and unified approach at the High Level Inter Ministerial meeting to chart the way forward for the development of the tourism industry.
On his part Minister Morgan briefed the meeting on an array of issues relating to air transport, which would benefit the trade as a whole. Mr Morgan stressed the importance of air travel independence and emphasised the policy of not relying exclusively on one particular airport hub by diversifying points of connection, which could hamper the developmental trajectory of Seychelles tourism and the air transport industry.
Minister Morgan remarked that Air Seychelles as well as the Government of Seychelles were both dedicated in creating the right environment to promote growth in the tourism sector by exploring new markets- in particular, Air Seychelles announced routes into the Indian sub continent, the People’s Republic of China, with flights to Hong Kong, and most recently the proposed direct flights into Paris, Charles de Gaulle which has the added benefit of exponentially increasing European visitor arrivals, tapping into the vast network of Air France. The cooperation with Air France was recently announced following a signing of a memorandum Of understanding between Air Seychelles and Air France.
Minister Morgan stressed the need to modernize the Air Transport Policy so as to enhance the country’s growth potential. “There must be a concerted effort to build on the bases available and work towards the continued development of infrastructure projects, and along those lines, so that our ports of entry into the Seychelles becomes part of the excellence that we are striving to be,” said Minister Morgan. The Minister added that he would following his most recent meeting with the SHTA, meet with and brief the Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture.
Also present at the meeting were the CEO of SCAA Mr. Gilbert Faure, Mr. Eddy d’Offay the Vice Chairman of the SHTA, Ms. Kate Carolus, Executive Director SHTA, as well as Board members of the SHTA – Mr. Guillaume Albert and Mr. Rod Thorington.