At ITB in Berlin last night the Republic of the Seychelles had many reasons to celebrate.

The national carrier Air Seychelles announced a twice a week non-stop flight from Seychelles to Duesseldorf, Germany.

This is an achievement for the tourism industry not only to promote to tourists in Germany wanting to explore the beaches of the Indian Ocean country,  but also for citizens of the Seychelles ready to explore Duesseldorf as a shopping destination.

The event last night also had a different highly political twist. The active fight for the post of the next secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) was on the center stage. Candidate and former minister of tourism for the Seychelles, Alain St. Ange managed to bring the current secretary general Taleb Rifai to the stand, along with the ministers of tourism for the Seychelles and Mauritius and VP’s for Air Seychelles and the airline’s main investor Etihad Airways.

Carlos Vogeler, running mate for the Korean candidate  for the UNWTO Post Dho Young-shim was spotted in the high level audience.

See for yourself: