Victoria,
January 7, 2005 -
The population of Seychelles
returned to work after
a long New Year break,
counting its blessings
that the Christmas tsunamis
had not touched its
tourism industry
or caused any humanitarian
disaster. In fact
the tourism infrastructure
has been hardly touched
and several tour
operators have been
diverting clients
to Seychelles resorts
from the Maldives
and Sri Lanka.
Air Seychelles traffic
arriving from Europe
in January 2005 is 7%
above last year while
cancellations in the
aftermaths of the Asia
earthquake have been
low except from Italy.
International and inter-island
air and boat services have
been back to normal since
the day after the tsunamis
struck. The activity
at Seychelles International
Airport is increasing in
the beginning of this year
2005. In addition to the
national carrier Air Seychelles,
more scheduled carriers,
special flights and private
jets have also recorded
an increase in January.
Out of
the 147 hotel establishments
in Seychelles, two of
the three hotels on the
island of Praslin which
temporarily suspended
operations for cleaning-up
after flooding will re-open
next week, and the third
has taken the opportunity
for renovations and will
re-open in March.
If however
Seychelles will be in Geneva
next week to state its
case for some international
assistance it is to help
accelerate efforts to
repair some damage to
its public infrastructure
which were affected by
the tail end of the tsunamis
and two days of heavy
downpour that followed.
Several main and secondary
roads on the two principal
islands of Mahé and
Praslin have been affected,
some bridges have been
damaged although temporarily
repaired, and there has
been some damage to Port
Victoria as well as to
a number of private homes,
but nothing to keep tourists
from enjoying the beaches
and attractions of this
tiny Indian Ocean archipelago.
A spokesman
for the Seychelles government
said: “Fortunately
we mobilized, from the
President downwards,
as soon as we heard that
the tsunamis could hit
us. “As
a result of this prompt
action we managed to
contain any humanitarian
disaster and lost only
one person who was out
fishing”.
The country’s
Vice President, Mr. Joseph
Belmont, also the Minister
for Tourism, went public
shortly before the New
Year and assured tour
operators and consumers
alike worldwide that
tourism in Seychelles
was safe and sound. Said
Vice-President Belmont: “It’s
business as usual in
Seychelles”.
Source:
Courtesy STMA
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ARCHIVE
Vice
President Belmont reassures
overseas tourism operators
Victoria — December
29, 2004 — Vice President Joseph Belmont
has issued a statement as
Minister of Tourism today
to reassure European tour
operators that Seychelles
is safe and sound for tourists.
Despite regular updates
by the Seychelles Tourism
Marketing Authority and Air
Seychelles in the last few
days to reassure operators
that its tourism business
as usual in Seychelles, hoteliers
have received reports of
last minute cancellations
by anxious travelers.
On the other hand, we have
also learned that several
Seychelles hotels have received
new bookings from tourists
who have been diverted from
such destinations as Sri
Lanka and Maldives*, areas
which have been hit much
more seriously than Seychelles
by the Indonesian earthquake.
Only three hotels in Seychelles
have closed operations temporarily
to allow them time to bring
their properties to full
operational level – they
are Paradise Sun, La Reserve
and Vacanze Cote d’Or
Lodge.
Vice President Belmont
said: ”We have been
very upfront and truthful
in our reports and assessment
of the damage. The worst
hit in Seychelles have been
public infrastructure such
as roads and bridges and
seaside private homes, and
there has been only one death,
that of a person who died
while fishing.
“All inter-island
and international flights
are running on schedule,
and tourists are going about
their holiday in a very normal
way”. VP Belmont’s
message is being relayed
to operators worldwide this
very evening.
* Note
of the webmaster: The
capital city of Maldives
is MALé. Seychelles main
island is MAHé. Malé (Maldives)
unfortunately had to face
major damages - which is
not the case for Mahé (Seychelles).
We noticed that some people
might mix up the two names.
Mahé (Seychelles) continues
to welcome all travellers
without any problem...
Bishops
and President to lead Thanksgiving
prayers for Seychelles
being spared the strongest
tsunamis
Victoria — December
29, 2004 — TSUNAMI...
Thursday 30 Dec. islanders
of all religious denominations
will pack the little Anglican
Cathedral in the capital
Victoria to pray that they
do not hear the word again
for as long as they live.
If on Christmas Day you
had asked the average person
in the tiny holiday paradise
of Seychelles in the Indian
Ocean what a tsunami was,
the reply would have probably
been a Japanese dish or national
dress. But tomorrow islanders
of all religious denominations
will pack the little Anglican
Cathedral in the capital
Victoria to pray that they
do not hear the word again
for as long as they live.
The bishops of both Anglican
and Catholic churches, the
latter of which is the faith
of 90 per cent of the inhabitants,
will lead a congregation
headed by the islands’ President
James Michel and senior members
of government as well as
diplomatic representatives
of countries who have been
affected by the latest historic
Indonesian earthquake. The
occasion will be a Thanksgiving
service to give thanks for
having been spared the worst
of the ravages of the tsunamis
that have wreaked havoc in
neighbouring Indian Ocean
states such as India, Sri
Lanka and Maldives.
Ironically
it was at this very site
in 1862 that many Seychellois
people sought refuge from
one of the country’s
worst disasters - a huge
landslide that cost the lives
of many.
By regional
standards the Seychelles
have been left safe and sound – only
one national still missing
at sea; a few pockets of
damage on the main islands
of Mahe and Praslin in terms
of broken bridges and cracked
road surfaces; a few washed-out
ground-floor rooms of hotels,
but with all tourists safe
and sound and well alive
to tell the tale of that
memorable tropical Christmas.
Some family homes by the
coast had been damaged and
several families have spent
the last two evenings with
relatives and neighbours.
In one colourful description,
one elderly seafaring man
from Cerf Island in the Marine
National Park told the local
media:”One minute I
counted corals in the sea
as far as my eyes could see,
and the next minute the sea
had gone right up to my house.
Even my father before me
had never seen something
like this”.
Even when CNN and the BBC
were still announcing the
first effects of the tsunamis
around Indonesia early in
the morning of the 26 th
December, the Seychelles
Government had set up a Disaster
Committee in preparation
for what they did not know.
Ocean logic meant that being
some two to three hours flying
time from Maldives or Colombo
, there was every chance
that Seychelles could hear
a whisper if not a thunder.
The Disaster Committee has
yet to take stock of the damage,
but for now tourists and locals
alike are moving around freely
in the sunshine and life in
these Indian Ocean islands
is well back to its usual laid-back
style. In fact, so intact is
the tourism infrastructure
that by Monday morning several
European tour operators were
calling the islands to book
rooms for clients whom they
were diverting from Sri Lanka
and the Maldives.
Source: Courtesy
STMA
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