Fitch Ratings has announced that Seychelles’ credit ratings remain at ‘BB-‘ with a stable outlook in 2023. The ratings reflect the country’s solid tourism recovery, stable growth prospects, low inflation, and a stable economic framework.
The Seychelles tourism sector had a solid recovery in 2022, with tourist arrivals surging by 82{ab542062b6f0146775e2fb0173db6ea111b6f04235dc440c175c4397f8b88bbb} YoY, reaching 86.4{ab542062b6f0146775e2fb0173db6ea111b6f04235dc440c175c4397f8b88bbb} of 2019 levels.
However, Fitch warned that global economic uncertainty and competition from other high-end tourism destinations may lead to a slowdown in visitor growth to an estimated 5{ab542062b6f0146775e2fb0173db6ea111b6f04235dc440c175c4397f8b88bbb} in 2023-2024. Despite continued visitor growth, Fitch expects tourism receipts to decline by about 14{ab542062b6f0146775e2fb0173db6ea111b6f04235dc440c175c4397f8b88bbb} in 2023 and 7{ab542062b6f0146775e2fb0173db6ea111b6f04235dc440c175c4397f8b88bbb} in 2024, reaching 41.3{ab542062b6f0146775e2fb0173db6ea111b6f04235dc440c175c4397f8b88bbb} of GDP, given the expected tapering in arrivals of high-spending tourists from Russia and other countries.