Republic of Seychelles' Minister Didier Dogley announced banning cruise ships for 2 years. The Government's decision is part of the measures to minimize the impact of an eventual second wave of COVID-19 in Seychelles, so the tourism department had announced a 2-year ban on all cruise ship calls at Victoria (Mahe Island).
According to the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Didier Dogley, the ban is effective immediately and through the end of 2021. He explained that since the pandemic and the measures to contain its diffusion were taking a heavy toll on tourism, the government had taken a number of measures, including financial, to ensure tourism-related businesses could survive and stay afloat during the Coronavirus difficulties until the industry picked up.
The measures are in line with the UN's World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) - the specialized agency responsible for the promotion of universally accessible and sustainable tourism. The Minister said that besides salary guarantee until June, other support included soft loans made on terms favorable to the borrower and tax holiday. He encouraged employees who were not working to apply for their annual leave and that, he said, would help to lower the cost of operations to the businesses.
For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's COVID page.