Foreign Affairs and Tourism Minister Sylvestre Radegonde visits small establishments of Praslin |09 August 2021

Minister Radegonde talking to the owner of one of the tourism establishments he visited on Friday (Photo: Romano Laurence)

Minister Radegonde praises

Praslinois for high level of

cleanliness and high standard

By Nadia Bedier

Foreign Affairs and Tourism Minister, Ambassador Sylvestre Radegonde, has praised Praslinois for the high level of cleanliness he observed on the island as well as the high standards displayed by the tourism establishments he visited, describing it as very encouraging.

Minister Radegonde was on Praslin on Friday to visit several tourism establishments in the district of Grand Anse. This is a follow-up to a similar visit held on the island earlier this year but which had to be interrupted by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

He was glad to note that similarly to establishments at Anse Royale on Mahe which he visited the previous week, establishments on Praslin are doing very well, with an occupancy of 75% or above.

Ambassador Radegonde was accompanied by principal secretary for tourism Sherin Francis, members of the National Assembly Churchill Gill (United Seychelles’ elected member for Baie Ste Anne) and Doyace Poris (Linyon Demokratik Seselwa’s proportionally elected member) as well as officials from the tourism department.

The minister shared the aim of his visit with Seychelles NATION: “Today I came to visit some establishments on Praslin, especially the small ones, in order to familiarise myself with the various tourism products available, especially the small establishments. This will allow me to better understand their challenges and see how the department of tourism can better support them. This will also give us an idea of what the department is currently doing to ensure a constant inflow of tourists and a solid tourism industry.”

The visit started at Jenny self-catering which comprises three rooms. The delegation met with the owners ‒ Mr and Mrs Constance.

This was followed by the Palm Beach Hotel, a 13-room establishment which is currently operating with a workforce of 10 when its ideal number of staff should be almost 20.

Hotel Plein Soleil with 10 rooms was next to be visited by the ministerial delegation. The manager, Brigitte de Charmoy Lablache, welcomed the delegation for a tour of the establishment.

Lydia Confait of Diamond Plaza, a self-catering establishment, led the delegation around the 14-room hotel which employs an all-Seychellois workforce.

Marie France Waltelsteiner of Beach Villa guided the delegation around the nine-room guest house which has not yet resumed operation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is mainly due to the fact that the establishment’s main market is still currently closed. If all goes to plan Mrs Waltelsteiner expects to welcome the guest house’s first guests in October this year.

The newly opened ANV Holiday Apartment of two self-catering rooms was also visited by the ministerial delegation and the owners ‒ Andrew Vidot and wife Nathalie ‒ acted as guides. The newly built guesthouse started operation on August 1 this year.

This was followed by the Dhevatara Beach Hotel. The small 10-room, 5* Boutique Hotel operates with a workforce of approximately 30 and all heads of departments are Seychellois, except for the general manager.

The visit continued at the Villa de Mer, where the owner Lydia Lablache, also the owner of one of Praslin’s first hotels ‒ Britannia ‒ led the way. Mrs Lablache who has over 30 years of experience in the tourism industry shared with us her impression of the current tourism situation.

“To be honest, with the Covid-19 pandemic, I am very grateful that we are finally able to receive some visitors. I keep an open mind that things will eventually improve and pray that there will not be any other surges in the number of cases which could interrupt the industry,” Mrs Lablache told Seychelles NATION.

The delegation wrapped up its visit at the Villa Admiral self-catering, a one-bedroom establishment belonging to Denise Adeline.

“The visits were very fruitful in confirming that the occupancy rates are extremely satisfactory for our small establishments with the majority of hoteliers saying they have enjoyed around 100% occupancy in the past months. It appears that there is a balanced distribution in where visitors to the destination choose to stay,” said Minister Radegonde.

Expressing his pleasure at being able to reaffirm his ministry’s commitment to all partners in person, Minister Radegonde said “the ministry is ready to assist partners to better their products and service delivery as well as provide assistance with their visibility and marketing in general.”

The principal secretary for tourism Sherin Francis stated that “our figures show that Praslin is one of the most visited islands of our destination. Aside from day visitors, 19% of our 384,204 visitors chose to stay on Praslin during their time in Seychelles in 2019. This shows that the island is much appreciated by our visitors and as we are focussing on enhancing our guests’ experience of the destination, we will ensure that the opinions of partners on Praslin are part of the decisions taken.”

Minister Radegonde said that among the concerns raised were noise disturbance as well as the seaweed issue on the Grand Anse beach which occurs every year during the south east monsoon. The ongoing battle for skilled professionals, which seems to be a common issue within the tourism industry, was highlighted by most establishments and a solution needs to be found to remedy the situation.

The hoteliers also shared with the minister the sighting of many more stingrays than usual close to shore on Praslin and the continued beach erosion in some places.

Despite all those challenges, all the hoteliers visited were very optimistic about the tourism industry. Even though the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted negatively on their business over the last year or so, they are confident that eventually the figures will pick up especially as the number of forward bookings is very positive.

The accompanying photos were taken by Romano Laurence.