7 March 2024
It was double honours for Indian Ocean island nation, Seychelles as both its present and former minister of Tourism were recognised at the Award Giving Ceremony held at during ITB 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Sylvestre Radegonde, the incumbent Minister of Tourism along with the island’s popular former Minister of Tourism, Alain St. Ange, were recipients of individual awards at the recently concluded leading travel trade show.
Current Minister Radegonde received the “Tourism Minister of the Year: Indian Ocean Region,” while his predecessor, St. Ange, who was unavailable this year at the annual ITB Berlin was recognised after he was called to confirm that he had been selected by PATWA International Travel Awards 2024 for the exclusive individual excellence award “PATWA Gold Award – Travel & Tourism.
The Award Ceremony at ITB 2024 took place on March 6th, just after the 2024 edition of the PATWA World Tourism and Aviation Leader’s Summit on ‘Tourism & Climate Change’ where Tourism Ministers Clayton Bartolo of Malta, Celso Sabino De Oliveira of Brazil, Radegonde of Seychelles, and Edmund Bartlett of Jamaica took to the podium alongside Yatan Ahluwalia, the Secretary General of the PATWA Organisation.
While Sylvestre Radegonde was personally on stage to receive his “Tourism Minister of the Year: Indian Ocean Region” Award, it was Dr. Jens Thraenhart, the German tourism consultant based in Malaysia who accepted the exclusive individual excellence award “PATWA Gold Award – Travel & Tourism” on behalf of St. Ange. Both St. Ange and Dr. Thraenhart are known to work together on different tourism consultancy projects, with the pair in Egypt on a recent working mission.
The PATWA International Travel Awards are given to recognise governments, brands, individuals, ministers, and organisations that have excelled and are involved in the promotion of tourism from different sectors of the travel trade such as aviation, airlines, hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, countries, destinations, provinces, cities, government bodies and other service provider(s) related directly or indirectly to the industry.
Alain St. Ange who is now on his way to South Africa said that he is honoured to have again been recognised by PATWA at the ITB 2024 Award Ceremony. “Receiving the exclusive individual excellence award PATWA Gold Award – Travel & Tourism is humbling, and as I say thank you to Yatan Ahluwalia, the Secretary General of the PATWA International Travel Awards, I can only add that the World of Tourism must continue to work to consolidate their Industry because the Community of Nations needs a vibrant and successful Tourism Industry. I will continue to do my share to help ensure tourism works. Tourism is and remains an Industry and not just an Activity and it is up to Tourism Professionals and their Ministers of Tourism who need to grab their industry and ensure it works for their people, economies and investors,” St. Ange said.
