A three-strong Maldivian tourism delegation toured Seychelles last week in a bid to learn more about the Seychelles tourism "product."

Lead by the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism's Deputy Director of Trade Standards, Ahmed Salih, the delegation spent six days in Seychelles, meeting with staff from the Ministry of Tourism and Transport, the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association (SHTA), the Seychelles Tourism Marketing Authority (STMA) and private tourism businesses.

Mr Salih said that the main aim of the visit was to learn from the Seychelles tourist industry and to share tourism expertise.

Drawing attention to the differences in regulation of tourism in the two countries, Mr Salih said that in Maldives the private sector has far greater power in the industry, with the government playing only a facilitating role, compared to Seychelles.

He added that while the number of visitors to Maldives is higher than that to Seychelles, the yield per visitor, that is the amount of money generated by each visitor, is greater in Seychelles.

The deputy director also said that the delegation had examined Seychelles' tourism planning policies which offered more control than in the Maldives. Mr Salih explained that in his country if an investor has sufficient capital to carry out a project, then the decision on where to locate the project is largely left up to that company.

Acclaiming the meetings which took place as open, transparent and friendly, Mr Salih said that the example of the ASEAN tourist industry had been discussed.

According to Mr Salih, when ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations, attends a trade fair it purchases one large stand, within which each individual member state takes a stall.

Mr Salih suggested pursuing a similar policy for the islands of the Indian Ocean, as all of the countries in the region are seen as, "peaceful and with friendly populations, which are major factors in today's tourism market."

Mr Salih, who was accompanied by planning officer Fathimath Naziya and Ahmed Janah assistant planning officer, explained that the visit followed a request from the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism.

Meanwhile the Seychelles Ministry of Tourism and Transport has confirmed that a Seychellois delegation has been invited to undertake a similar study in Maldives and that this will likely go ahead next year.

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