Presentation 159

A Reputation of Paradise....

The Seychelles islands, separating facts from fiction.

dfdfdfd Srdjana Janosevic Chief Press Secretary, Office of the President, Republic of Seychelles.

What my friends overseas think I do

Office on the beach

What my friends in Seychelles think I do

Endless diplomatic cocktails

What my colleagues think I do

Endless talks with the President

What I actually do

Endless hours slaving in front of computer/ 24hr on call

Overview • Introduction- Seychelles islands

• Aaah paradise!

• Not quite perfect?

• Competing interests in the reputation of Seychelles

• Who's in charge of communications, identity and trust?

• How does Seychelles maintain a reputation of paradise?

Paradise • Perfection in a remote, far away place • Always sunny, always happy, always pleasurable, always the answer to all your problems • holds to key to happiness and a good time • Escapism, a place to forget the world • Aspiration for the lucky few

Aaah Paradise!

• Extraordinary, beautiful natural environment, “ANOTHER WORLD” • • • • • • • • •

Warm tropical climate: between 24-32 °C all year round Slow pace of life away from the rat race Peaceful- multi-racial, multi-religious society with no experience of war One of the smallest countries- population of 90,000 Africa's highest ranking in the UN Human Development Index (health & education are free) Top in Africa for Gross National Income Per Capita-$13,990 2nd African country to be given High Income status by World Bank 52% of its land territory protected by law as nature reserves-1st in the world Best passport in Africa- visa free travel to 129 countries including EU, Switzerland, UAE, South Africa, China, Russia, India

Aaah Paradise!

• Strong social welfare policies -minimum wage and social security/basic pension are 364 US$ a month, unemployment is at 4%, • 75% of Seychellois families are owners of their homes.

• 97% have electricity and 93% have treated water and 97% have a flush toilet • 95% have a TV and 35% have Cable TV • 90% have mobile phones • Every year 40,000 trips are made overseas by Seychellois residents.

• 51% of households are headed by women • Seychelles was ranked first in Africa for the Gender for indicators including gender equality, gender balance in education, women's participation in the labour force, women in parliament among others.

Not quite perfect?

• It rains quite a lot, throughout the year, with sunny intervals and showers that start unexpectedly.

• The ocean can be rough with big waves • Internet can be slow, and Wi-Fi is not widespread • Cost of living/or holiday is expensive (almost everything is imported) • People are not in a hurry to work- very laid back lifestyle attitude • High levels of alcoholism • The fattest country in Sub-Saharan Africa – diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases prevalent • Highest number of intravenous heroin users (per capita) in the world2000 persons • Highest number of prisoners per capita- 800 prisoners for 90,000 people • More than half of all children are born outside of marriage- social problems related to family breakdown and multiple partners • Brain drain and HR limitations (therefore 13,000 expatriate workers)

Competing interests in the reputation of Seychelles

Politicians

Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Transport

Seychelles Tourism Board

who's in charge of communications, identity and trust?

Government

Travellers Media

/Consumers

How does Seychelles maintain a reputation of paradise?

• Tourism branding and education • Online platforms – www.eturbonews.com – www.seychellesnewsagency.com – Social media

• The experience • total transparency v/s charm and seduction

Is Seychelles really a paradise?