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Seychelles Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine visits Shannon College graduates

April 24, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Minister Didier Dogley accompanied by the Principal Secretary for Tourism, Anne Lafortune and the Director for Tourism Human Resource Development, Diana Quatre visited graduates of Shannon College at their current place of employment as part of a mentoring initiative, following a resolution at the last committee meeting held in December 2018.

The visit was conducted at four different hotels, namely the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, AVANI Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa and the Constance Ephelia Seychelles on Monday 15th April 2019.

The purpose of the visit was to meet with graduates of Shannon College who are working in the hotels of Seychelles and establish a communication channel between the graduates and the Ministry.

The first hotel to be visited was the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles employing the largest cohort, comprising of 7 Shannon graduates. This was followed by Kempinski Seychelles Resort & Spa with two graduates, Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa with one graduate and the Constance Ephelia Seychelles with 3 Shannon graduates.

During the visit, graduates were given the opportunity to express their views, in the presence of their hotel managers. The main point of discussion was centred on the minimum salary and career progression within the hospitality industry. Overall the graduates in the four hotels were satisfied with their working condition and the opportunity offered to develop their career further.

Minister Dogley stated that “The visits of the Shannon graduates in their workplace and the meetings held with their General Managers provided an excellent opportunity for me to learn about the progress they have made as professionals in the hospitality industry.  Most of them had clear career paths and personal development programs.

It was a real pleasure and an eye opener to discover that the majority of them are already working as managers in some of our top brand hotels.  This in itself shows that the vision government had for more well-trained and highly skilled Seychellois to take leadership roles in our hospitality industry is becoming a reality.”

 

The Ministerial delegation will also be visiting graduates from the other tourism establishments in order to provide similar opportunities for interaction. These visits are in line with the goal of the Ministry to ensure that the tourism sector is equipped with qualified individuals and shall endeavour to continue to assist graduates in achieving their dreams of progression to senior positions within the hotel industry.

 

To date, there are 74 Shannon College graduates who have gone through this programme.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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Destination Florence CVB partners with City of Florence for international tourism promotion

April 19, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Destination Florence CVB is the new official partner of the City of Florence to promote the destination and better the quality of tourism.

The Florence Municipality, The Florentine Chamber of Commerce and The University of Florence signed an agreement to outline new and effective strategies in the tourism field, relying on the governence of tourism and the ability to directly foster agreements between institutions and individuals, while defining and clarifying the roles of various on-site actors.

The agreement is dedicated specifically to the MICE tourism and to better the quality of tourism in all the Florenctine territories and it has the aim of choosing a partner to develop activities and strategies.

Thanks to the winning of a competition notice, Destination Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau has been selected as the unique partner of the City of Florence and its partners to promote the destination all over the world and acquire more conferences and events.

To develop the activities, the Municipality of Florence allocated 320.000 Euros per year for a total period of three years, to be renewed for two more years.

Destination Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau has been operating for over 20 years as a destination agency to attract large events, congresses, international marriages, and individual tourists. It represents a comprehensive outlet for tourism thanks to more than 300 partners, a network that makes it possible to have a synchronized bond with the territory and the operators functioning within, strengthened by signed agreements with trade associations of reference.

The Ministry of Tourism of the city of Florence, Cecilia Del Re, said “We are very proud to have selected a unique partner for the promotion of the city. Florence is a unique city to host conferences and events also thanks to the new tramvia, the huge renovation of our congress centre and the future major enlargment of our airport”.

Destination Florence CVB presented a project to better the tourism within the city of Florence thanks to specific activities and with two main goals: acquire more conferences and events and attract a qualified tourism.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:

– Increase the number of winning bid and conferences to be held in the city
– Presence at primary Fairs and Events of the sector (ILTM Cannes, ATM Dubai…)
– Augment number of tourists with a qualified profile and high spending capacity
– Increase the average duration of stay within the territory
– Expand and diversify the range of services, products, and experiences
– Qualitatively enhance the image of Florence worldwide
– Promote qualified and certified tourist services in the city, including the greater metropolitan area, to include lesser-known concepts of great touristic value

Carlotta Ferrari, Director of Destination Florence CVB said: “Florence is one of the most attractive destination of the world in fact it is in the top five cities to host conferences and events. We will continue to promote Florence to acquire more conferences and events each year.”

“Also, thanks to the Destination Florence project, we will develop and promote tourism offerings, proposing a benchmark for a single, potential national model. We are working with the most innovative technology as our new chat bot that we will presented in the next months and we are also opening our official account on WeChat to promote Florence in the Chinese market.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

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Boat Charter Policy private stakeholder consultative meeting

April 18, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

A consultative meeting with private sector stakeholders to discuss the revision of the tourism Boat Charter Policy was held on the 5th April 2019 at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles (ICCS).

The Meeting was chaired by the Principal Secretary for Tourism Mrs. Anne Lafortune and in attendance was the Director for Policy, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Mrs. Bernice Senaratne, Director for Standards and Monitoring, Mr. Louis Desnousse, relevant government agencies and boat charter operators.

The aim of the consultation meeting was to present and discuss the proposed amended Boat charter policy which dates back to 2008 in order to collect the views and recommendations of the private sector, mainly boat charter operators who will need to abide by this policy.

During the meeting, it was unanimously agreed that Boat Charter businesses should be reserved to Seychellois including all assets.  The operators highlighted that by not allowing leasing of capital assets from foreigners, the charter businesses will remain free from foreign involvements. The Principal Secretary also assured the meeting that all 300 registered Boat Charter businesses are fully owned by Seychellois as per the Tourism Department’s records.

One of the main concerns raised by the Boat Charter Operators during the meeting was regarding the availability of qualified and skilled labour. According to the operators, graduates who qualify under ‘My first Job scheme’ do not have the required skills and training for the job. The Assistant Director of the Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA), Captain Wilton Ernesta also present during the meeting explained that the Academy provides the necessary training for maritime based operations and as of this year they have adopted a new strategy to recruit and produce quality students as opposed to quantity by the year 2020.

The boat charter policy comprised of 11 policy statements which include ownership and investment in the charter business, Fleet size, Qualifications required, Conditions of Licence, Standards to be maintained, Environmental actions, Preservation of the Environment, Operators subjected to Integration policy , Information to be submitted to the relevant Authorities, Non-compliance and Emergency and Evacuation procedures.

The main recommendations submitted by the operators in the meeting were regarding the preservation of the environment statement, whereby they emphasized on the need for better infrastructure and facilities to support this policy. The example of introducing a black water pump out system for the disposal of waste was given in view that currently waste is being disposed in the sea. They will be unable to implement the policy requirements without the proper infrastructure in place. It was also recommended that a Boat charter association should be set up to facilitate dialogue and support the operators and the different activities of this sector.

The Tourism department will be taking into consideration all comments and issues raised during the meeting. The proposed draft will be amended and presented to the stakeholders in a follow up validation workshop.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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Seychelles receives honor of hosting FINA CNSG Open Water World Series 2019

April 17, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The excitement was palpable at Beau Vallon Beach on Saturday, April 13, 2019, almost a month before the Seychelles hosts for the second consecutive year the FINA CNSG Open Water World Series 2019.

This year’s event is being held in collaboration with Chinese based company CNSG and Seychelles is once again the second leg in the series of eight.

The organizing committee’s partners including the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), officials and local swimmers gathered at Beau Vallon Beach where a trial run was organized to test out the facilities, the technical requirements and of course, the local swimming talents.

Principal Secretary for Sports, Fabien Palmyre present at the trial run mentioned his satisfaction to see that the FINA CNSG Open Water World Series 2019 is materializing with the support of all local partners.

“I am excited to again, be part of such an event. I am proud of all our young swimmers who have made an effort to be present today. I am grateful to all the partners and volunteers and I am definitely looking forward to this year’s event,” said PS Palmyre.

15 swimmers competed in the Beau Vallon waters in three main races, 2.5 km, 5 km and 7.5 km. According to the Seychelles Swimming Association (SSA) officials, the reasoning behind the distances selected is to enable the swimmers to test out their abilities to see which category would suit them best for the May 11, 2019 event, which will be opened for the public and other swimming enthusiasts.

The 2019 Mass Open Water event will take place on Saturday May 11, one day prior to the Elite event.

The May 11 Mass event will comprise of four distances, Group A (500 m), Group B (1 km), Group C (3 km) and Group D (5 km). The only age restriction will be for Group A where students aged 13 years and under can participate. The others will be open to all ages and there will be two races, a male and a female race for each distance.

“Mass participation is crucial in making the Mass event a success and the Seychelles Swimming Association is calling on all swimmers to register for the event,” said David Vidot, SSA Chairperson.

Mr. Vidot indicated that the forms for registration are available on the SSA Facebook page and website. The deadline to return the registration form to the Swimming Association is May 1, 2019.

The Seychelles is honored this year to have four Seychellois swimmers qualified to take part in the Elite 10 km race, which will take place on Sunday May 12, 2019.

Joining the 2018 swimmers, brothers Bertrand and Damien Payet, will be Matthew Bachmann and Alain Vidot, both of whom completed the 7.5 km race finishing second and third consecutively behind Damien who crossed the finishing line on Saturday first.

The Elite event which is broadcast to a global audience via the FINA network, exposes Seychelles in another light, similar to that of the annual Eco-Marathon event, which strengthens Seychelles’ potential as a Sports Tourism destination.

“It is such a privilege to be hosting the event again on our shores; as announced earlier this year, STB is committed to promote Seychelles as an ideal sports destination. Our collaboration with Seychelles Swimming Association and other partners for FINA CNSG Open Water World Series 2019 is an ideal platform for us to showcase our beautiful destination and its pristine waters,” said Mrs. Sherin Francis, Seychelles Tourism Board Chief Executive.

In May 2018, open water swimming made its debut in Seychelles, as the small island nation became the second host in the FINA World Cup Series 2018. The iconic Beau Vallon beach was the chosen venue to launch Seychelles in the open water swimming world, making it the first country in Africa to host an event of this caliber.

As part of the FINA mandate, the host country is required to host a mass event alongside the elite 10k m event, in order to encourage and mobilize the local community to appreciate and take part in the sport.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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U.S. Travel applauds introduction of JOLT Act

April 9, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Have you heard of the JOLT Act? JOLT stands for Jobs Originated through Launching Travel.

The Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy for the U.S. Travel Association, Tori Barnes  issued a statement on the introduction of the Jobs Originated through Launching Travel (JOLT) Act of 2019:

“International inbound travel is central to America’s job growth: in 2018, international travel spending directly supported 1.2 million American jobs and $33.4 billion in wages. The JOLT Act will do just as its name implies—provide a ‘jolt’ to the American economy and workforce with critical enhancements to inbound travel, including measures to increase both the security and efficiency of the U.S. visa process.

“The Visa Waiver Program—which the bill would re-designate as the Secure Travel Partnership—is one of the most important tools for increasing secure travel to the United States. Renaming the program will more precisely reflect its value as a national security instrument, and other provisions in the legislation will further strengthen the program while facilitating the arrival of qualified international visitors who bolster America’s economy.

“U.S. Travel applauds Representatives Quigley and Rice for recognizing the role that secure, robust international inbound visitation plays in America’s economic and jobs growth, and we are eager to work with Congress to advance this important bill.”

Travel News | eTurboNews

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United Airlines appoints new VP

April 5, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

United Airlines today announced Michael Leskinen has been named vice president of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Leskinen currently serves as managing director of Investor Relations. In his expanded role Leskinen will also lead United’s strategic investment activities including United’s investment activity in partner airlines.

“Mike’s experience as an investor and knowledge of the industry, along with his success in building strong shareholder relationships, make him the right executive to also lead our corporate development efforts,” said Executive Vice President and CFO Gerry Laderman.

“We have demonstrated that United is on the right path with our strategic plan and have just begun to realize United’s full potential. As we look to the future, we will continue to make disciplined investments that further our competitive advantages. Mike’s background makes him uniquely qualified to weigh those investments against the intrinsic value in our own shares,” said President Scott Kirby.

Leskinen joined United in January 2018 and in that time has played a vital role in improving the company’s relationship with shareholders. Prior to joining United, Leskinen was an executive director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where he led the firm’s investment efforts in aerospace, defense, and airlines.

Leskinen received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Arizona State University and his M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. Leskinen will report to Laderman. Leskinen and his wife live in Chicago and have three daughters.

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EU and Airbus cite US for inaction that could cost billions

March 28, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body has rejected every single United States argument whereas it has taken all EU legal points on board. In addition, the WTO highest court has also qualified a number of additional US federal and state programmes as illegal subsidies, and even, as prohibited subsidies as in the case of the Foreign Sales Corporation scheme (FSC), a major win for the EU.

Airbus welcomed the report of the WTO Appellate Body, published today, which confirms that the United States failed to withdraw the subsidies granted by federal, state and local authorities to Boeing, and to remove the harm those subsidies caused to Airbus.

The report requests that further compliance steps are necessary from the United States and Boeing. Failure to do so will provide the European Union the possibility to seek countermeasures on imports of US products.

Airbus General Counsel John Harrison stated: “This is a clear victory for the EU and Airbus.   It vindicates our position that Boeing, while pointing fingers at Airbus, has not taken any action to comply with its WTO obligations, contrary to Airbus and the EU. With this damaging report, continuing to deny they receive massive illegal subsidies from the United States government is no longer an option. Stated differently, absent settlement, the US will pay – in perpetuity – billions in annual sanctions driven by every single flying Boeing program, while the EU would face, in the worst case, only minor issues.

He added: “We hope that these findings will prompt the United States and Boeing to move forward constructively in this long-standing dispute and join us in working towards a fair-trade environment. In the absence of a constructive approach, the EU now has a very strong legal case to move forward to countermeasures.”

Airbus thanks the European Commission and the governments of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain for their continuous support throughout the long dispute process. Their longstanding efforts to restore a fair level playing field are now clearly showing results.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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Reimagining tourism for the future

March 22, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

In the last decade or so, tourism has positioned itself as a critical variable in the development planning space and the development discourse globally. Today businesses, governments, international organizations as well as NGOs have established, or are establishing programs, initiatives and programs to facilitate tourism for development. Academic institutions have also been introducing, organizing or reorganizing ‘tourism’ as an important element of their curriculum. The University of the West Indies is no exception. Through its many courses, centers and institutes, the UWI has been preparing our Caribbean nationals for the expanding opportunities and benefits being presented by the growth of the tourism sector. But we have much more to do.

Tourism and Development

According to the UNTWO, WTTC, CTO, PATA and several other regional and global institutions, tourism has been recognized as that force, which accelerates human development, social and economic inclusiveness, increased entrepreneurship and self-employment, the generation of decent work, environmental sustainability and also support regional integration.

Indeed, the contribution of tourism to both national and regional development continues to be enormous and I dare say unmatched. Firstly, tourism is linked to the notion of a sustainable economy in several ways. The economic indicators show that Caribbean is the most-tourism dependent in the world, tourism is the main economic sector in 16 out of 28 Caribbean states and the total contribution of tourism to employment in the Caribbean is estimated at 2.4 million jobs according to the World Travel and Tourism Annual Report for 2018. In Jamaica tourism employs one in every four persons.

Beyond direct employment tourism and hospitality there are vast indirect opportunities for supplying inputs to tourism enterprises catering to the visitor experience in areas such as accommodations, food and beverage, cultural and creative arts, entertainment and recreation, agriculture, manufacturing, banking and finance and foreign exchange.

Tourism is also linked to the preservation of heritage and culture through the concept of experiential tourism. Most tourists travel to have authentic experiences that require that they partake in activities and consume and acquire products/goods that are indigenous to the countries they travel. Tourism thus helps to preserve natural and cultural resources while generating revenues and incomes for local populations.

To unlock the potential of tourism to contribute to inclusive growth and development our main focus at the Ministry of Tourism is to find innovate ways to reduce economic leakage in the tourism sector and to improve retention. This mandate is already being executed through our Linkages Network which has been coordinating policies and strategies designed to strengthen linkages with other sectors of the economy particularly the agricultural and manufacturing sector, strengthen the benefits derived from the industry by local residents and communities and promote broader participation by nationals.

We however recognize that the competitiveness 0f the Caribbean destinations will significantly rely on how well we prepare our people for the emerging opportunities. If Caribbean destinations are to remain globally-competitive and increase their share of the global tourist market, we must find ways to unlock new sources of competitiveness and comparative advantage.

Traditionally the tourism sector has enjoyed one of the highest rates of labor mobility of any segment of the economy. However, many of the opportunities taken up by our citizens are those that require low skill and offer limited prospect for economic mobility. This fact is largely attributable to the fact that the majority of the tourism-related jobs are deemed to require low to medium-level technical skills. The global tourism market is however becoming increasingly differentiated and segmented. Consequently, the continued growth of Travel & Tourism in the region will depend on the right people with the right skills being available to meet this demand for additional human capital. And we at the MOT have been working to create a paradigm shift in the local tourism space which will see our citizens accessing more substantive jobs and I will discuss this some more in a minute.

Many trends are impacting the skills needed to perform competently in tourism-related jobs such as digitalization and virtualization, the need for sustainable behaviors & practices, the growth of non-traditional segments, the changing demographics of international travelers (more youthful, more specific), changing lifestyles and consumer demands and the need for data-driven policies. Technology has had a significant impact on tourism-related employment as well as supporting and changing how services are delivered. While technology has downgraded certain skills in the tourism sector it has upgraded other skills, particularly in the areas of marketing, information and communication. Caribbean destinations must recognize the differing preferences of a new generation of younger travelers and the growing importance of online services and marketing, especially through mobile internet. The future of tourism lies in the manipulation and exploitation of ICT capabilities such as big data, big data analytics, machine learning, blockchain technologies, the Internet of Things, robotics etc. We thus need to urgently capitalize on the opportunities for high-skilled employment that are being generated in the ICT-related fields in tourism.

The growth of non-traditional markets in Europe, Asia and Central America will require increased focus on cultural studies and the development of competencies in various foreign languages. The increased focus on data-driven policies to better understand the emerging needs of markets, to analyze trends and to predict future patterns means that tourism development strategy must increasingly emphasize research-based skills. The evolving tourism market will require modern managerial skills that can drive performance improvements in the sector by raising productivity through better staff planning and scheduling, employing new technology and improving employee motivation, thereby reducing staff turnover. Most importantly , we must equip our citizens with the competitive business management and marketing skills that are required to operate successful tourism enterprises in this globalized era.

In the current dispensation, the hospitality sector has to contend with negative perceptions of low wages and the lack of career opportunities beyond entry-level jobs. Studies have found that many university students have a peripheral view of tourism. There is oftentimes scarce information and misconceptions about the skills required as well as the opportunities for career development. National governments must take a lead in developing a long-term workforce development strategy. Ideally, such a strategy would be developed within the broader context of improving the industry’s competitiveness and sustainability, since the increasing demand for skilled labor will continue to present a major challenge in all countries. It is highly recommended that strategies and their implementation should be carried out with the private and education sectors and embrace agreed-upon commitments from the industry.

A robust institutional framework is needed to determine the education and training policies and programs that will support a more attractive labor market and business environment in tourism which will allow the industry to maintain a sufficient and highly-qualified workforce and hence support the enhancement of productivity in the industry. My view is that while formal qualifications are not always required in tourism, their existence, and a widely available opportunity to obtain qualifications and competency development in tourism may contribute to raising the prestige of the occupation and the sector in general.

A study by the WTTC revealed that Travel & Tourism’s human capital challenges are significantly higher than those faced in other sectors with most countries in study projecting to face a talent ‘deficit’ or ‘shortage’ in Travel & Tourism over the next ten years. Talent development will also prevent many high-skilled positions from being filled by migrant workers. Both public and private sector are thus encouraged to act now to address the anticipated talent shortage.

Given the robust nature of UWI’s tourism portfolio which was recently expanded with the recent launch of the region’s first Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, here at UWI, changes in the tourism space, new instruction technologies, the ever diversifying nature of tourism, it is time for the UWI to reimagine its tourism portfolio and consolidate its programs, courses, institutes, centers, etc. under one roof here in one of the Caribbean’s mecca of tourism (Montego Bay) with the establishment of a school or a faculty of Tourism.

Indeed, UWIs global recognition as a powerful intellectual institution will position the UWI to make an even more substantive contribution to the development of the region through such a Faculty or School. Certainly, this effort would have my support, and, although I cannot speak for my Caribbean counterparts, I am more than certain it would also have the support of the government of the region. More specifically, in keeping with the mandate of the administration that I am apart of, I reiterate my commitment to promoting a sustainable tourism product that advances the well-being of local communities and that incorporates more local talent in the delivery of tourism services.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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