In marking the first interaction of the Seychelles delegation at the ongoing FITUR 2026 event, the Minister of Tourism and Culture of Seychelles, Hon. Mrs. Amanda Bernstein, and the Special Advisor Tourism of Seychelles, Hon. Mrs. Bernadette Willemin, in the company of the Seychelles delegation held an interaction with the UN Tourism’s SG.
The meeting reaffirmed Seychelles’ strong commitment to multilateral collaboration and offered an opportunity to share perspectives on critical domains of cooperation for 2026. Such critical domains of multilateral cooperation include the promotion of sustainable tourism development and destination resilience; human capital advancement; and participation in tourism international and regional activities.
Under the meeting, the minister narrated after the meeting when asked about the importance of such a partnership, where she said, “Seychelles shares a long-standing and constructive relationship with UN Tourism. This engagement enables us to align our national tourism goals with global priorities, while ensuring that small island destinations have a meaningful voice at the international level.”
One of the most notable outcomes was the conclusion and signing of an agreement that recognized and established the holding status of the 69th UN Tourism Regional Commission for Africa (CAF) to be held in the country in the future. The event, scheduled to take place between 2nd to 4th July 2026, will be held under the theme "Strengthening Human Capital to Boost Africa’s Tourism Growth," and leaders in the tourism sector are expected to attend from all over the continent in Africa.
As UN Tourism is headquartered in Madrid, the gathering offered an opportunity to solidify existing relations on an institutional level while maintaining the necessary alignment between national tourism objectives in Seychelles and overall regional/global priorities.
This introductory meeting for the agreement signing set the pace for the high-level meetings that the Seychelles delegation anticipates arranging during the event of FITUR 2026, with an emphasis on their leading and participative role in the tourism sector globally.
