I have had nothing but positive memories working for Tourism Seychelles, Says David Germain, recently retired Regional Director for Africa & the Americas
David Germain has been a tourism professional par excellence, with an illustrious career to his credit.
He recently retired as Regional Director for Africa & the Americas, Tourism Seychelles, with base in Cape Town, South Africa, where he was responsible for the implementation of the department’s marketing strategy, planning and promotional activities for the American and African tourism markets.
In this interview with VoyagesAfriq, he speaks about his illustrious career, work with Tourism Seychelles, as Honorary Consul in Cape Town, chalenges, his post-retirement plans, among others.
Can you trail your journey in tourism?
I was born on Praslin Island and I joined the tourism industry in Seychelles in its initial stage, right after the opening of the international airport on Mahe Island in 1972.
During the year 1975, I was recruited and worked as a tourist guide on Praslin, for DMC-Travel Services Seychelles, commonly known as TSS, the only DMC in the Seychelles at that time. Later on, I was transferred to Mahe Island and worked in various senior positions in the company during a working career of 20 years of service for the company, from1975 to 1995. I attended the first tourism school of Seychelles as well at that time.
What are the highpoints of your career?
In 1995, our head office in Mauritius (IBL) offered me the opportunity to embark on my first overseas posting, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, to work as the operations manager for our sister company in Africa, a local DMC (TSZ) Tourism Services Zimbabwe, based in Victoria Falls. The company provides various leisure activities and ground services to international visitors to Victoria Falls, with cross-border operations to the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zambia respectively.
I worked in Zimbabwe for six years, from1996 to 2002, and gained a lot of experience, and appreciation of the African people. It was a wonderful experience altogether for me and my family.
Whilst in Victoria Falls, I was tasked with the opening of a new sister DMC for the company, Tourism Services Zambia, in the neighbouring city of Livingstone, Zambia, which turned out to be a very successful business venture for the company, which was added to my area of responsibility.
In 2002, I was asked by our head office to consider returning to Seychelles to take up the position of General Manager of TSS. I returned and worked for the company for one year, and thereafter, a decision was taken by head office to stop all its tourism operations in Africa & the Indian Oceans Islands, and TSS was merged with Creole Travel, which is nowadays known as DMC-Creole Travel Services.
I moved to Cape Town, South Africa, in 2003, a city that I had always wanted to discover, and ended up staying for 22 years there. At first, I setup and register a new DMC, Cape Holiday Services, based in Milnerton, offering ground services to international visitors to South Africa and the region, including Seychelles. It is a well-established and full-fledged destination management company.
In 2007, Cape Holiday Services was appointed as representation company for Tourism Seychelles in South Africa, with responsibility for the promotional activities and marketing of Seychelles as a holiday destination for South Africans, this responsibility was later extended to include the whole of the African continent. I was the person undertaking this role on behalf of the company for Tourism Seychelles, and I participated in conferences, exhibited at exhibitions, conducted workshops, among other activities for Seychelles in many African countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia, Botswana and Angola.
In 2009, Minister Alain Ste Ange, who was then our Minister of Tourism, asked me to assist the department in developing the American tourism markets (North & South) as source markets for Seychelles. I undertook working missions to North and South America, which resulted in a representation office in Brazil, for South America, and I personally undertook the responsibility for the North American market, which today is among the top ten markets for Seychelles based on visitor arrivals to the country, something that I consider as one of my greatest achievement.
How was the experience as Seychelles Honorary Consul in Cape Town, South Africa?
In 2019, Seychelles former president, Danny Faure, appointed me as the Seychelles Honorary Consul in Cape Town. I worked closely with our embassy in Pretoria and introduced Seychelles to the diplomatic community and businesses in Cape Town. I also participated in many diplomatic events and attended sessions at the parliament in Cape Town. I served my country as Consul for 4 years in Cape Town, from 2019, until my retirement in December 2023.
What were the challenges you encountered in your career?
In the tourism industry, competition is usually the main challenge, our task is to provide potential visitors with meaningful reasons to visit Seychelles and commit to their desired experience and expectations locally.
In your views, how should Africa & Seychelles approach the North American market?
Most travellers from North and South America to Seychelles, are visitors who has been to an African or Middle East country for holiday, and thereafter to Seychelles as an extension of their holiday. Although, this is the most popular program, there are many travelers from the Americas who are travelling directly to Seychelles as well. Given the distance, and different time zones, the Africa/Middle East & Seychelles combination package, provide a break in the journey and most importantly, offer a two-country holiday option with different cultural experiences. Air access is of paramount importance for this offer.
What is the next chapter for you?
Ever since I started working for Tourism Seychelles, about 16 years ago, I have had nothing but positive memories all along. I appreciated very much the camaraderie and opportunities availed to me at work. Promotion from Director to Regional Director Africa & the Americas allowed me to conduct working visits introducing Seychelles to the travel trade partners in 15 states in the USA, 13 countries in Africa, and Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay in South America.
Working for my country (Seychelles) overseas has truly been an honour. The future is an exciting prospect for me, I remained connected with my friends worldwide, re-connecting with families and friends, and having rested for a while, I now intend to conduct tourism consultancy services in the future.
I wish nothing but the best to the management and all staff of the Tourism Department, and the travel trade partners in general, who are collectively doing a great job for our country.
It has been a very enriching and interesting journey, as a career.
This article was first published in the June 2024 Edition of VoyagesAfriq Travel Magazine
