Daily Times

Seychelles has seen a pickup in tourism after vaccinating a bigger proportion of its population against the coronavirus than any other nation. The number of visitors to the Indian Ocean island archipelago plummeted 92 percent to 6,785 in the first quarter as international travel ground to a near-halt. Seychelles has since reopened its borders and several airlines have resumed flights. The country saw a recent surge in Covid-19 infections, although it abated this week. The tourism numbers “are not pre-Covid numbers but it is a significant improvement,” Naadir Hassan, the minister of finance, economic planning and trade, said in an interview on Thursday. While the government banned intermingling of households and sporting events in response to the increased virus caseload, the minister said the economy couldn’t cope with another border closure regardless of whether there was another surge. “When we close down our main sector, that is tourism, is impacted,” Hassan said.