Editing Economy of Seychelles (section)

===Tourism and fishing===
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{{Further|Tourism in Seychelles}}
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[[Image:Fisherman Seychelles.jpg|thumb|Fisherman landing his catch, in the early 1970s]]

Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the economy, accounting for approximately 16.6% (2000) of [[gross domestic product|GDP]]. Employment, foreign earnings, construction, banking, and commerce are all dominated by tourism-related industries. Tourism earned $631 million in 1999–2000. About 130,046 tourists visited Seychelles in 2000, 80.1% of them from [[Europe]] ([[United Kingdom]], [[Italy]], [[France]], [[Germany]], and [[Switzerland]]).

In 2000, industrial fishing surpassed tourism as the most important foreign exchange earner. Manufacturing, construction, and industrial fishing, notably tuna fishing, account for about 28.8% of the GDP. Earnings are growing annually from licensing fees paid by foreign trawlers fishing in Seychelles' territorial waters.

In 1995, Seychelles saw the [[privatization]] of the Seychelles Tuna Canning Factory, 60% of which was purchased by the American food company [[H. J. Heinz Company|Heinz]]. Similarly, some port operations have been privatized, a trend that has been accompanied by a fall in transshipment fees and an increase in efficiency. Overall, this has sparked a recovery in port services following a drastic fall in 2009.