Buoyant tourism in 2010 was a significant contributor to real GDP growth during the year, estimated to be about 6%, although several other sectors and subsectors also performed strongly, including manufacturing, utilities and telecoms, as the economy rebounded from the global recession and a local debt crisis. Various manufacturing sectors grew strongly in 2010, helped by the much-improved availability of foreign exchange for imports. Soft-drink production jumped by 27% to 5,936 kilolitres (kl) after three years of decline, while beer production increased by 13% to 4,780 kl after a two-year downturn. Mineral water also posted a steep rise (by 34% to 5,995 kl), although milk and juice production contracted. In non-food manufacturing output of paint and construction materials such as blocks and aggregates posted solid gains. Supporting the rise in economic activity, electricity generation jumped by 13% to 301m kwh, a record high, while the number of mobile-phone subscribers climbed by 36% to 173,049, approximately twice the size of the population.

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Production of canned tuna-Seychelles' main export-by the Thai-owned Indian Ocean Tuna grew by 4.2% to 30,338 tonnes, the fastest rise since 2005, according to the latest production indicators from the National Bureau of Statistics. However, growth was hardly spectacular and output remains much lower than the peak of 40,606 tonnes achieved in 2005, because of a lower regional catch, greater competition for available tuna (from other regional canneries, for example) and a lack of new investment. Indeed, the volume of fish caught continues to fall, down by 14.1% in 2010 to 2,597 tonnes, following a 37% fall in 2009. Volumes are less than half their 2005 peak. A new fishing development scheme is under way at Ile du Port to help to diversify fish processing and value-added products both for local use and export, as well as boat servicing. This may help to boost volumes in the short term but risks exacerbating pressures on stocks-around a quarter of the world's tuna is caught in the Indian Ocean-unless a regional sustainability plan can be achieved.