The next UNWTO Secretary General: A run behind the scene is on the way



Recent reports mentioned among others His Excellency Alain St.Ange, minister of tourism for the Republic of the Seychelles as a possible candidate to succeed Dr Taleb Rifai as the new UNWTO secretary General in 2017

Last night at a press conference in the capital of the Seychelles, Victoria, the minister was asked by eTN if he was a candidate for the post of the next secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

When asked Minister St. Ange conceded that many countries and many individuals had approached him and expressed their confidence in him that he should be nominated as a potential successor when a new Secretary General is elected at the Beijing UNWTO General Assembly next year.


Minister St. Ange however made it plain that his first duty was to his country and the Seychelles tourism industry. His role is to safeguard the gains of past years and build on the foundations of success for yet even better results in the future.

He said: “It took the Seychelles 40 years to reach 130.000 arrivals and in the space of the past seven years we more than doubled that figure.

It shows we are doing something right. He mentioned the industry is going through challenging times. When one market goes soft to due unforseen situations including terror,  we are now able to accelerate growth from other market places. This development must be safeguarded. I have a duty to my country and as a member of the cabinet of ministers my first and foremost obligation is to the Seychelles.”

Notably he did however not expressly rule out a candidacy at a later time.