March 22 2011 -- President James Michel has said our expanding tourism industry cannot rely on Air Seychelles alone to bring in the number of tourists it needs.

"If we rely only on Air Seychelles to bring tourists into the country, three-quarters of hotels and other smaller establishments will remain empty. This is why there is a need to allow other airlines to fly here more frequently," he said.

He was speaking on Friday in an interview after visiting the airline's headquarters at Pointe Larue to give support to members of staff at a time when Air Seychelles is facing difficult times.

Mr Michel said while he understands the importance of the government protecting our national airline, the country's economy as a whole should not be overlooked.

His comments followed a question about fears that increasingly tough competition from bigger airlines flying here will take business from Air Seychelles.

He said the aviation industry is a dynamic one, but one that is suffering from the impacts of economic changes going on in the world.

"The important thing is for our government to remain focused and strong to ensure all the necessary measures are taken to ensure our airline continues to operate, because Air Seychelles is the lifeline of our tourism industry," said Mr Michel.

He highlighted all the various businesses and jobs that depend on the tourism industry to survive.

"If we want to continue to develop and create more wealth for our country, and a better life for our people, we should create better conditions to encourage other airlines to bring visitors here," he said.

The President said when we talk about the financial difficulties of our small national airline, it is important to know that bigger airlines around the world are also facing difficulties.

He gave as an example Air India, which recently recorded a loss of some US $800 million and has asked the government for US $820 million to reorganise its operations, while Air Tanzania is asking its government for US $73 million to remain viable.

Air Mauritius has also asked its government for help. Over the past two years the Mauritian government had injected large sums of money into its national airline, which is today pulling out of the crisis, Mr Michel added.

And he noted that Air Malta, which is a small airline like ours, will benefit from €53 million that the country's parliament has just approved so as to keep it flying.