Seychelles officials are planning steps to boost Russian tourist inflows as flight disruptions persist due to the Middle East conflict The Seychelles is facing a sharp drop in tourist arrivals amid the war in the Middle East, but hopes to offset losses with an increase in Russian visitors, President Patrick Herminie has said. Speaking to RT, the head of the African state noted that the island nation has seen “the drastic reduction in tourism arrivals by 40%,” a downturn that is hitting the economy hard, as “tourism is the mainstay of our [Seychelles’] economy.” He linked the decline to disruptions in regional air travel following the start of the conflict triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. Multiple countries across the Middle East have imposed airspace restrictions, forcing airlines to reroute or cancel flights, while airports in the region were also affected.…