Tourism sector gets big boost in second Seychelles-Sri Lanka business forum
Almasalla,Gate Arab Tourism News- Tourism principal secretary Anne Lafortune represented Seychelles tourism sector at the second Seychelles-Sri Lanka business forum held in the capital Colombo from August 27-29.Mrs Lafortune was part of a strong delegation led by the Minister for Finance, Trade and Investment Pierre Laporte.
The business forum is an initiative of the Seychelles Investment Board together with the Seychelles non-resident Ambassador Waven William, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Sri Lankan Export Development Board.
It aimed to target Seychellois as well as Sri Lankan business entrepreneurs who may wish to invest in areas such as tourism, fisheries and financial services in Sri Lanka and Seychelles, and to promote trade between the two countries.
Mrs Lafortune gave a presentation on the different areas of investment opportunities which are available to foreigners in the sector.
Apart from talking about restaurants, yacht charter, marinas and diving activities, Mrs Lafortune put more emphasis on the development of boutique hotels, residential villas and eco-lodges principally on the outer islands of the Seychelles. Out of all the islands, only 10% have hotel developments.
Other prospective areas for investment emphasised on during her presentation was the development of mini cruise ships to allow tourists to discover all of our islands, and also the introduction of regional cruises to further promote the vanilla islands experience.
The forum was seen as a successful mechanism to attract investors from the two business communities and to open the door to investment for Seychellois entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka.
With the recent introduction of Mihin Lanka from Colombo to Seychelles’ main island Mahe in November 2013, air connectivity between the two countries has been established, making it easier to attract visitors and investors alike.
Seychelles has witnessed an increase in the number of Sri Lankan visitors from 253 in 2012 to 520 last year, and 689 from January to July this year. The Mihin Lanka airline has also extended possible connection for other Asian countries to Seychelles.
