The Seychelles Column - By Christopher Gill

A Moment With The President of Seychelles

Part II

In President James Alix Michel’s meeting with SBC the state owned, and fully controlled sole local TV station, for the month of August, the President released the new logo for Seychelles Tourism as being: “Seychelles Brand”.
“Unique by a Thousand Miles” had been scrapped, “As Pure as it Gets” in black and white, gone, and “Another World”, shelved in a very short time. Now Michel in a single stroke , ushered in: “Seychelles Brand” under his Tourism portfolio.
The new brand perplexes many not because of what it says, but because of Mr. Michel’s actions in relation to the brand. His actions have been detrimental to the Brand he now announces to the People of Seychelles.
No one really seemed to understand what “Seychelles Brand “ means. But only an incite into Michel’s moment with us, can we come to understand “Seychelles Brand”, not just for Tourism promotion, but in a political context for Michel as well.
Unfortunately for Seychellois, the political season is upon us, and Michel will use Tourism promotion to meet the pressing political need of survival.
Proceed with caution with Michel! Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware!
In the next few months, we will hear about Tourism Five (5) Year Master Plan, Airport Master plan, Infrastructure For Water and Electricity and Beyond Master Plan, Public Transportation Master Plan, Environment Master Plan, Fight Against Piracy Master Plan, Fishing Industry Master Plan, Primary and Secondary Education Master Plan, Health Care Master Plan, Social welfare Master Plan, all because under James Michel, there has been no plans.
We have been walking in the dark.
Michel says:” Seychellois have The Means To Take Control of Tourism”
After permitting the selling much of our prime patrimony to foreigners in the early days of his administration, and defending the sales and encouraging branded hotels to come to Seychelles was a saviour move, then officially declaring we are bankrupt in October 31, 2008, Mr. Michel, now says, we “Seychellois” can take control of the Tourism Industry.
This theme has been spread on SBC TV and Radio. It is written in Rising Sun (Ramadoss a Fabrike paper), Isola Bella, (Michel personal mouth piece) and the Nation (Government daily paper), People (PP mouthpiece).
Like all political themes, saturation is the strategy, to put people into a trans of numbness, with no counter argument. It is at this point wherein silence becomes the weapon of deception. Imposing silence, is a communist 101 tool to maintain control over a people.
How will we make “Seychellois take control of the Tourism Industry, under the James Alix Michel plan?
According to Mr. Michel, he will tell us how, next year!! Not this year, nor the last Five (5) years! He will tell us next year, because there is no plan. Next year he will very likely finish Seychellois off in the Tourism Industry by permitting Eden island to have a free ride and permit a “change of use”, and continue supporting Branded hotels with concessions because his Arab friends owns them.
Michel Appeals For Racial Cohesion in Seychelles
In his interview, Mr. Michel shifted subjects from Tourism and addressed growing division in Seychelles along socio- economic lines. He said that if the “Seychelles Brand” was to work, racial cohesion must be respected in Seychelles. He highlighted that Seychellois are a civilized population and need to sit down and discuss issues. He highlighted that the population does not have to go out into the streets to resolve any issues it may have.
Mr. Michel was obviously referring to the Delo Kaka, ASCON Sheik Khalifa scandal of infecting 1200 residents of La Misere, Cascade, Grand Anse Mahe, main water source and causing an unprecedented level of sickness and some cases resulting in near death.
Mr. Michel has sent out armed men to oppose and crack down on these residents. The Commissioner of Police has used the Public Order Act, a One Party State law to prevent the residents from exercising their right to peaceful assembly, which is enshrined in the Constitution of the Third Republic, a civilized right in any modern society. Mr. Michel has turned on his people in despair to please Sheik Khalifa Bin Al Zayed Nayed, MNA Bernard Georges former Client, according to Mr. Georges and Viyzon mouthpiece.
I fail to see what racial cohesion has to do with the Right to Protest and Assembly, a citizens inherent right in any civilized society.
Mr. Michel in my opinion has simply hijacked the Tourism Industry agenda as Minister of Tourism, to save his presidency, by marrying unresolved issues that are boiling over, with the need for Tourist to have a positive relaxing image of Seychelles, before the come here for Two (2) weeks.
Mr. Michel’s effort is a stretch of the imagination and he has captivated only his government CEO’s, out of fear of losing a pay check, if they question his hair brained strategy. But there is more to the coffin of failure. Read on.
Emirates and Qatar Are Partners
Mr. Michel has told us that he opened the airways to Emirates and Qatar Airways to allow more growth in the Seychelles Tourism Industry. He says that these airlines, have larger marketing budgets and can promote Seychelles. Sounds good to the naked brain. But analyse what Michel is saying:” Because Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airlines have a large marketing budget, we should give them rights to Seychelles....conclusion.”
The Question Is:
How much of the large marketing budget to market jet flying around the world, did Mr. Michel get Emirates and Qatar to commit as a special market budget for Seychelles only, before it granted them rights to fly into Seychelles?
The Answer Is:
Zero.
Michel let these airlines into Seychelles, without a commitment. He negotiated with them as if they were doing Seychelles a favour. Each year STB grapples for a marketing budget, yet airlines contribute little or nothing to the fund. The same can be said of the internationally branded companies coming to Seychelles.
Mr. Michel, in business, no one does you a favour for free. They spend money in your destination to make money. This is called :PROFIT! It is the reason why Emirates and Qatar are here. They both know Seychelles market is lucrative and they can make a handsome PROFIT because they know Air Seychelles is not being run properly to do the same. These companies see opportunity in Seychelles. They do not come here because they love you, or Rene.
The opportunity exists because you stifle Seychellois from taking advantage of them and you allow foreigners to. Look at the fiasco at Eden Island you created. It proves my point, conclusively.
In exchange, money will be sent overseas, beyond operational expenses. GDP will trickle growth, when it could be compounded if you could run a corruption free government and country.
Guess what Mr. President?
The Qatar Emirates routes to Seychelles are highly profitable! They are making money off our backs, and you gave them the route free of any conditions that could benefit our Tourism Industry in real terms, in real time.
The effect on Seychelles:
Is that Emirates and Qatar fly to Seychelles, yes, but they have only displaced Air Seychelles market share, and made life for a fledging national carrier difficult and life for Tourist that really want to come to Seychelles tough since they have long transits in the desserts of the Middle East.
Since Emirates and Qatar has been coming to Seychelles, our market share in tourism has increased only by an additional 20,000 visitors but our revenue is down -25%, that could have been adjusted by the same amount with increased revenues, if Air Seychelles was excelling, or Mr. Michel had sought out better positioned relations with European carriers, where most of our Tourism market does and still comes from.
Nothing racist there, just pure business common sense.
Marketing Needs To Be Applied To Your Market, Not left in the Desert
With Mr. Michel’s marketing budget commitment from Emirates and Qatar for Seychelles standing at zero, we need partners that commit to market Seychelles in our main markets. We do not need to dilute our product market effort by focusing on the desserts of Arabia to garner market share or venturing to Vietnam, China, Korea.
Today, Seychelles must go back to traditional partners and re-establish a working relationship. Why? Because Europeans just love the Seychelles! That means Mr. Michel, it will always just be easier to sell, hence cost less per head of arrival to market. That also means with the right combination of effort, and logistics, we can pack them into Seychelles, and fill the beds, rent the cars and sell the excursions, feed them as well.
In the desserts of Arabia, whoever can afford to come to Seychelles, will fly in on their own plane. Who cannot afford a private jet to Seychelles, will find it expensive. That region does not need much marketing effort, put simply. Sir, you have missed the boat entirely.
You even ventured to Korea and China last year to sell Seychelles, when you should have been in Frankfurt, London and Paris, Rome. Now we will pay for your mistake for years to come in the worse economic environment since the Great Depression of 1934.
If Michel is Not On Boat, We All Suffer
Now People of Seychelles, listen and read carefully. If Mr. Michel, the head of Tourism and the President of Seychelles misses the boat on marketing Seychelles, we will all pay the price for his failure to catch the boat on time.
Rebuilding this industry will not be easy in the face of the worse economic crisis since 1934 the world faces:
(a. Farmers will suffer- because tourist will not come to eat vegetables and pork, and beef and chicken, because it has not been killed the right way;
(b. Fishermen will suffer because Mr. Michel’s new Tourists will want a bourgeois killed by Halal technique on the high seas, hence their catch will not reach the hotels as sales;
(c. Excursion operators will suffer because money spent on marketing will be money wasted since whatever we spend, we will have spread our spending too thin across the world, and no end positive result;
(d. All existing hotels will suffer, because we will have less tourists, and less visitors, because the money for marketing was suppose to be spent in the dessert region, and it has not, and Europe our main traditional market has not been given the serious attention and focus it needs.
(e. In the meantime, we will lose Air Seychelles, a national flag carrier that could play a vital purpose with great success, if it was managed well and had a President that supported it, at least half way with some half decent ideas. The least Michel could do at Air Seychelles, is bounce the dead weight Board of Directors and put in place some serious business people with proven ideas. Placing dead weight on the Air Seychelles Board, results in dead weight in Tourism Industry for all Seychellois to carry; I do not see anyone on the Air Seychelles Board, with enough brains and backbone to make the national carrier the success it has to be for Seychelles;
(f. With less Tourist , crime will go up;
(g. Our destination will lose it’s “Brand” as being a safe destination; we are already experiencing that in a gradual increment;
(h. Left unfettered and unchecked, Mr. Michel will have succeeded completely, in sinking Seychelles, even beyond national bankruptcy to failed state status;
(i. IMF will be here with an office on Independence Ave, indefinitely, beside UNICEF and the UNDP World Food Program.
I said it before and I will say it again, Mr. Michel, leave politics out of the Tourism Industry.
If you cannot help yourself from resisting the temptation, declare publically that Tourism will be headed by STB full stop. That is the only way it ever works anywhere in the world, where it does work. Seychelles is not an exception to fundamentals of marketing or Industry.
Your Che Guevera days are over, or are they still with you?
State House since you walked in never made anything work well in 12 months, so give it a break and allow the Tourism Industry to chart its own course forward free of politics.
Whether you win or lose an election, the Tourism Industry must survive.
Fishing is down -56%. Do you want to take Tourism down -56%?
If so, we are half way there with -25% receivables on plus 12% arrivals. It will not take much to take it down to -56% and go neck and neck with the Fishing Industry.

Sesel Pou Seselwa!
May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!