§ Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will state the number of hotel beds available in the Seychelles; and if he is satisfied that this is adequate for the scheduled air services which are now operating into the colony.
§ Mr. KershawBy the end of 1972 there will be approximately 640 hotel beds available in the Seychelles with provision for substantial increases thereafter in the years up to 1976. The rate of hotel building is, however, limited by the availability of manpower for construction and the Seychelles Government take full account of this in their development plans. In this situation airlines must clearly take account of the availability of hotel accommodation in planning the frequency of their services to the Seychelles.
§ Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps lie is taking to assist tourism in the Seychelles.
§ Mr. KershawConstruction of the Seychelles Airport to make the Seychelles easily accessible to visitors, was financed from United Kingdom funds. The necessary infrastructure for tourism—
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§ Mr. KershawCitizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies, who are subject to control under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1968, may apply to any of Her Majesty's Missions for a special voucher.
§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will publish a table showing the number of applicants for entry vouchers awaiting consideration, analysed according to their country of origin for each of the last 12 months.
§ Mr. KershawThe number of processed applications outstanding at quarterly intervals since 1st June, 1971 is as follows:
e.g. water, sewerage, electricity, roads and port development—is being implemented by the Seychelles Government with very substantial assistance from United Kingdom Aid funds.
§ Mr. Bryant Godman Irvineasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the increase in the number of tourists visiting the Seychelles at any convenient periods from the start of the scheduled air services.
§ Mr. KershawSince the introduction of scheduled services in 1971, there has been a steady increase in the number of tourists visiting Seychelles. In October, 1971, January and April, 1972 there were 348, 630 and 976 visitors respectively. The monthly average for 1970, the last complete year before the opening of the airport, was 135.