Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles candidate for the position of Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), has received a further boost in his bid ahead for the May elections.

Sri Lanka Tourism professional Chandra Mohotti, the Chairman of the Eastern Province Tourism Bureau and Senior Vice President of the Galle Face Hotel Group Management Company, has written to confirm that he was endorsing the candidature of Alain St.Ange, the candidate from Seychelles, for the post of Secretary General of the UNWTO. Mr. Mohotti, who is also the Chairman of the Tourism Industry Skills Council if Sri Lanka, said in his endorsement letter that he has followed the work of Alain St.Ange since he was Director of Tourism of Seychelles right through to his ministerial days when he took responsibility for Seychelles Tourism.

“We know that he would be a good successor for the great work done by Taleb Rifai,” said Mr. Chandra Mohotti before adding: “Alain St.Ange is a unifier and has always tried to bring countries together to work as one for tourism, and has been a good friend. We have watched closely his Vanilla Islands initiative and the way he worked tirelessly to create a new tourism region for the Indian Ocean. We need so much this approach if unity in the UNWTO is to continue the work you have started. We also appreciate his continued statement of, friends of all and enemies of none, and the call for respect of people immaterial of color, of religious beliefs, of political affiliation, and of gender preferences. The United Nations will no doubt greatly benefit from the experience and personality of Alain St.Ange, and we are delighted to endorse his candidacy for Secretary General of the UNWTO.”

Alain St.Ange has welcome the endorsement from Sri Lanka. “This is a sign of the global tourism network at work. Being able to go beyond your own borders is needed if one aspires to lead the UNWTO. We in Seychelles are humbled by the endorsement,” said Alain St.Ange. (ETN)