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Seychelles partnered with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to identify skills needs and shortages in the tourism industry in order to determine appropriate actions needed to close those existing gaps in the Seychelles’ tourism sector.
Here UNWTO assisting one of its member states, Seychelles to assess the situation in the industry and device an action plan to tackle those issues. The first step towards this is a rapid assessment done by the UNWTO consultant, Lisa Gordon-Davis. Part of this project a group of various stakeholders in the industry attended the meeting at the International Conference Centre of Seychelles (ICCS) in which they were encouraged to express their sincere views, as their frankness would be of great help to the authorities. This exercise was very important as it will provide the authorities with data and information on the human resources situation on the field, stated Diana Quatre. director HR, department of tourism Seychelles.
The move to evaluate the human resources needs in the industry is part of the new tourism strategy for 2023-2026.The aim is to grow the demand for a higher value and lower impact tourism; enhance, diversify, and differentiate tourism products, and facilitate the delivery of a high-performing tourism workforce.
Tourism is the top contributor to the economy of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. Among the industry players who attended the meeting were owners from self-catering establishments as well as trainers in hotels. The project demands the input from all the stakeholders to draft an action plan that is reflective of the situation.
There have already been meetings with the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) and there will be future meetings on Praslin and La Digue to gather as much information as possible. This will allow the authorities to ensure that training and capacity building in the Seychelles tourism sector be in line with international best practices and standards, stated Diana Quatre, director at the Department of Tourism, Seychelles. Quatre also explained that while the framework of how to employ personnel in the tourism sector will be in place, the authorities are still in discussions as to how to enforce it. Taking inputs from all the partners is of utmost importance, including those who do not immediately seem like they are concerned with tourism, such as the Attorney General’s office and representatives from schools.
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The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide. UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, to maximize tourism’s socio-economic contribution while minimizing its possible negative impacts, and is committed to promoting tourism as an instrument in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), geared towards reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development.
UNWTO generates market knowledge, promotes competitive and sustainable tourism policies and instruments, fosters tourism education and training, and works to make tourism an effective tool for development through technical assistance projects in over 100 countries around the world.
