CRUISE SHIPS TO RETURN TO SEYCHELLES

After 18 months, Seychelles is ready to welcome cruise ships back as of November for the 2021-2022 cruise ship season.
Accumulated demand has given rise to interest in the Western Indian Ocean from cruise operators right through 2024.

The season will be opened by the MS Island Sky, passing through four of Seychelles' outer islands: Aldabra, Assumption, Farquhar and Cosmoledo.

According to the Seychelles News Agency, Alan Renaud, Principal Secretary of Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine comments, "To facilitate the safe re-start of cruise ship operations, the Department has created a 'COVID-19 Company and Cruise Ship Checklist.' This is for cruise ship operators to follow in order that the ships adopted minimum safe measures to be implemented in their operations in Seychelles."

Prior to the pandemic, cruise ships were a US$45 billion global industry, carrying 20 million passengers a year, with a very loyal fan base. The industry was also heavily impacted by the pandemic, with many countries putting place no sail orders for cruises.

On 9 March 2020, the government of Seychelles announced a temporary closure of the island nation to cruise ships to protect the population from the threat of the COVID-19 virus.

Mr. Renaud said that Seychelles received continual inquiries in 2020 and 2021 on when it might re-open.

"We're pleased to report that since we announced we would re-open our sea borders earlier this year, we have voyages planned from November 2021 all the way to February 2024," he expressed.

The Principal Secretary for Tourism, Sherin Francis, said that the re-opening to the cruise industry "is another milestone for our destination. […] I am happy that all relevant actors have ensured that due precautions have been taken to facilitate this exercise in a safe manner."