SPGA reviews management of Ile Cocos marine park |26 August 2023
SPGA chief executive Allen Cedras and deputy CEO Lya Docteur (Photo: Neil Sirame)
The Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority has announced that the Ile Cocos marine park will now fall under the management of the Curieuse national park and Ile Cocos remains a tourist attraction.
The announcement was made yesterday morning by Seychelles Parks and Gardens Authority (SPGA) chief executive Allen Cedras, during a press conference at the authority’s headquarters at Orion Mall, in Victoria.
Mr Cedras said the move has been discussed and agreed by their board following negative publicity in the media about the Ile Cocos marine park. He said there has been false impression that the marine park’s reefs had deteriorated completely.
Mr Cedras noted that although some corals were destroyed last year, it was not on a significant scale. “It is estimated that 10 percent of coral deteriorated and we are restoring the affected area. However, the harsh currents of the south east monsoon have slowed down our operations,” said Mr Cedras.
He said SPGA officers visited the marine park in June and July, where they conducted a small expedition to showcase the park’s good conditions and potential.
“We wanted to demonstrate that Ile Cocos has many things to offer because we want to diversify activities for our visitors,” he said.
According to SPGA, each park has its own specificity, such as Curieuse with its terrace, trail and tortoise, whereas Ile Cocos is more popular for snorkeling and diving.
Mr Cedras explained that Ile Cocos has been absorbed by the management of the Curieuse Island, since they have a significant number of staff needed to ensure the place is managed effectively and gets the necessary visibility.
Ile Cocos marine park remains operational, offering a spectacular experience to visitors with its breathtaking view and marvelous reefs.
The authority is now working to enhance the attraction of the small island’s rocky shores by working in collaboration with their stakeholders, including the Six Senses hotel and other partners, to install boardwalks on the island to ease visitors’ movement.
SPGA aims to provide a better perspective of the marine park disclosing its demarcation, activities, prices and better offers for tour operators and tourism businesses.
Mr Cedras added that they will also crack down on tour operators who have been misleading visitors by taking them to the wrong location hence reducing the revenue due to SPGA.
“The area is very small, covering 0.1 square kilometers. Snorkeling and diving remain the ideal activity and we are encouraging tour operators to convince their clients to visit the place,” said Mr Cedras.
Accompanying Mr Cedras was SPGA’s deputy CEO, Lya Docteur who said that other than its conservation role, the authority has a commercial mandate, and has to make sure it operates on a sustainable financial basis.
Ms Docteur said after analysing last year’s statistics, they noticed a significant decrease in revenue collected for the marine park.
“Ile Cocos marine park generated good revenue over the past years and what we recently discovered was that many visitors were paying to visit the park but never reached their destination, as they were instead taken some place else,” said the deputy CEO.
She added that the SPGA will be placing interactive boards and maps of the Ile Cocos marine park at the new jetty on La Digue to better inform visitors and tour operators. The authority was also introducing new attractive bundles by merging Veuve Reserve and Ile Cocos marine park tour into a package at a discounted price of R250.
The SPGA has also introduced what they call a ‘marine package’ which comprises tours to Curieuse Island and Ile Cocos at a discounted price of R400.
“Our new strategy has been welcomed by tour operators and DMCs,” said DCEO Docteur.
Ms Docteur added that they are convinced these new packages will increase their revenue for Ile Cocos marine park and deter the scams affecting their market.
Neil Sirame