Seychelles tourism minister honoured at London’s House of Lords for ‘outstanding endeavours’
Tourism |Author: Madiha Philo and Sharon Uranie | September 25, 2015, Friday @ 15:42| 3870 views
Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St Ange. (Ministry of Tourism and Culture)
(Seychelles News Agency) - The United Kingdom’s Minister of International Development, Baroness Sandip Verma, has honoured the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St Ange in recognition for his work and leadership towards tourism development.
Verma who was born in Punjab, India, moved to the UK with her parents at the age of one.
She presented St Ange with the ‘Plaque of Honour’ in recognition of his dedication, passion, courage, commitment, spirit, ethics and excellence for his Outstanding Endeavours, at London’s House of Lords on Monday.
The House of Lords is often referred to as the 'Upper House' or 'Second Chamber' of the UK parliament.
According to a press statement issued by the Seychelles Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Minister St Ange was the guest of honor at the 2015 Global Indian Summit in London, where he was invited to inaugurate the 2015 ‘Global NRI [Non Resident Indians] Summit'.
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| Seychelles tourism minister, Alain St.Ange receiving his Plaque of Honour at the House of Lords in London from Baroness Verma. Photo License: CC-BY |
The Seychelles Tourism and Culture Minister has said that he feels deeply honoured to have received this "prestigious recognition" at the House of Lords in London.
“To be recognized at such an international level is an achievement not only for me as a tourism leader, but indeed a recognition for the Seychelles tourism industry and for the country as a whole. It shows that our tourism industry is on the right track,” St Ange told SNA.
“To be recognized as a tourism leader for my dedication, passion, courage, commitment, spirit, ethics and excellence in tourism is indeed a great feat…the Seychelles Tourism industry belongs to each and every Seychellois. For its continued success we need to stand together as a country…”
Tourism is the main pillar of the Seychelles economy. Last year a total of 232,667 visitors came to Seychelles, a figure which is expected to increase this year if the current trend continues.
According to latest statistics published on the National Bureau of Statistics website (NBS) there's been a 19 percent increase in tourism arrival numbers to date when compared to same period last year.