The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) is conducting a survey on COVID-19 in collaboration with the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) to assess what the pandemic has had on the tourism industry. The STB’s Strategic Planning and Market Intelligence section is working alongside the CBS team to ensure that relevant data is collected from local tourism establishments.
“For CBS, the survey aims to gather valuable insight on the financial repercussions the pandemic is having and will continue to have on tourism-related businesses, primarily tourism accommodations establishments. This includes assessing the ability of local establishments to cover existing debts and the flexibility of credit-granting institutions to support their clients,” says the governor of CBS, Caroline Abel.
Tourism being the country’s main economic pillar, the halt in passenger flights as a result of measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, means a decline in not only visitor arrivals but also tourism earnings. CBS’ preliminary estimate shows that the annual growth in tourism earnings is to contract by 70 per cent in Euro terms compared to 2019.
“Travel may have come to a standstill, with no incoming flights, but that does not mean that our work has stopped, as much has been invested in this industry, which has long been our bread and butter. We have a duty to keep abreast with developments within the industry at all times and STB will continuously monitor the impact of the current pandemic and offer its support while working diligently to help the industry to bounce back after the crisis,” says STB’s chief executive Sherin Francis.