By Hereward Holland
NAIROBI (Reuters) – The Seychelles economy will grow 7% this year, down from 8% in 2021, as tourism earnings rebounded above pre-pandemic levels, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.
Seychelles’ economy relies heavily on tourism, but visitor numbers tumbled 70% in 2020 in the face coronavirus travel restrictions. The IMF said tourism earnings in March 2022 surpassed 2019 levels.
“The Seychellois economy strongly recovered in 2021 with real GDP growing to an estimated 8%, driven by a swift rebound of the tourism sector,” the IMF said in a statement.
“In spite of the deterioration of the international environment associated with the war in Ukraine, tourism earnings in March 2022 surpassed the 2019 level.”
The surge of global prices is expected to bring inflation in the Indian Ocean country to 5.7% by the end of year, the IMF said.
(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Toby Chopra)
