The need for unity within all aspects of the tourism industry was the driving theme of the Minister for Tourism and Transport's speech to the annual Tourism Ball.

Addressing the annual Grand Tourism Ball, held on Saturday night (October 4), at the Berjaya Mahé Beach Hotel, Minister Simone De Comarmond called for togetherness between all members of the tourism industry, in both the public and private sector, to ensure the future of the industry.

Calling the previous twelve months a "difficult year in which Seychelles has been seriously challenged", the minister called on her audience of tourism professionals from throughout the industry to reflect on the last year and to reduce volatility and restore growth.

The minister said it was vital to make further strides to ensure that Seychelles was better prepared to perform more efficiently, to allow the business to expand and to improve its marketability.

"We must continue to consider the prevailing MERP as a necessary measure, supporting the wider industry and one which will, over time, help to define exactly who we are as a people and as a nation," the minister said.

"There is a need for us to remove all unjustified obstacles in our path today, but we must not consider a very difficult situation as necessarily the reason for our poor performance," she said.

"In order to consolidate the progress made we must further capitalise on out strengths," she added.

The minister called upon her audience to maintain the positive perception of Seychelles by delivering experiences that match visitor expectations.

In a change to previous years, the 2003 ball was organised by the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association (SHTA) and head of the SHTA, Mr Louis D'Offay, also spoke to the gathering.

Mr D'Offay said that arranging the Ball was a step towards the association's objective of becoming more involved in certain aspects of tourism, which had previously been the domain of the Ministry of Tourism.

Acclaiming the winners of the U-First awards, who were announced that evening,

Mr D'Offay called upon the service side of the industry to "help us overcome the other disadvantages the industry faces at the moment."

Mr D'Offay said that the industry was currently in difficult times and he was glad to note that STMA shared the concerns of the industry.

Mr D'Offay concluded by saying that, "If we all put our efforts together, the private and public sector, Seychelles will come out better off."

The most poignant moment of the evening came with the presentation of the Minister's Trophy, this year awarded posthumously to Mrs Therese Blanc-Payet, for her work in the Seychelles tourist industry.

The trophy was collected on her behalf by Mr Jean-Claude Volcere, after which all of the guests joined in a minute's silence in memory of Mrs Blanc-Payet.

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