Cape Town - The governments of South Africa and the Seychelles are set to work together more closely to see how the countries could aid each other in boosting tourism.
This emerged as the curtain came down on the sixth annual Carnaval International de Victoria in the capital on the island of Mahe on Sunday.
Tourism ministers Derek Hanekom and Alain St Ange were looking at ways to market packaged deals which would include stops in South Africa and Seychelles.
“People might ask how we can work together when we are competing for the same tourist dollar,” St Ange said.
“But in truth, we are trying to work together so that there is a bigger cake.
“Africa and the Vanilla Islands can work together to increase the size of the cake and that way everyone can get a bigger slice.
“So, yes, we may be in competition, but each destination offers a unique experience and selling point. Together we need to take this message to the market.”
Vanilla Islands is an affiliation of the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles, Madagascar, La Reunion, Mauritius, Comoros, Mayotte and Maldives.
Founded in 2010, it aims to pool resources in order to maximise the marketing potential rather than market each destination individually.
“For example,” says Vanilla Islands chief executive Pascal Viroleau, “if you are looking for a beach holiday, La Reunion isn’t for you. For that, you go to Seychelles. If you want an adventure holiday, then go to La Reunion. It has calderas and mountains and hiking. There are sharks there too, so swimming is not really a good option.
“But you go to Seychelles, as their minister likes to say, they have sharks, but they are friendly sharks and they know how to treat tourists.”
St Ange described La Reunion as the “Switzerland of the Indian Ocean” due to its dramatic mountainscapes.
Hanekom said there were opportunities to learn from Seychelles in terms of creating tourism opportunities out of events rather than simply waiting for the peak season to roll around.
“If you look at what Seychelles has achieved in the six years since the launch of Carnaval de Victoria, you can see that with the right attitude and marketing, you can create a market where there wasn’t one before,” Hanekom said.
Seychelles Tourism Board director for tourism for Africa and the Americas, David Germaine, said the carnival attendance has grown in leaps and bounds.
“From America alone, we get more than 3 000 visitors just for the carnival,” he said.
The tourism ministers jointly agreed that the slice of the international visitor pie was far too small.
“If you look at international visitors and tourist destinations,” said St Ange. “Africa only receives 5 percent of that market.
“For a continent as culturally rich and diverse as Africa is, how is it possible that globally, we only get a 5 percent share?”
Hanekom and St Ange were planning on working together to hammer out attractive packages that would make the continent and its islands more attractive.
“For example, you could go safari in South Africa and then it is just four-and-a-half hours to Seychelles,” St Ange said.
“We need to tell people it makes sense to combine the two.”
Cape Argus
l Lance Witten was invited to the Carnaval International de Victoria by the Seychelles Tourism Board, which sponsored his trip.