Tourism’s ‘Rendez-vous’ brand debuts on Mahé By Sunny Esparon |24 July 2023
Eager to enhance visitor experience in the Seychelles, the Tourism department officially launched the first edition of the Mahé Rendez-vous brand at Freedom Square on Saturday.
The official theme was ‘Experience Seychelles wellness, health, and beauty products with a cultural touch’.
Visitors to the Mahé Rendez-vous could taste local dishes and drinks, and buy traditional craft in a nice ambience, while listening to creole music and dancing to local traditional ‘moutya’ and other performances by local artists.
Principal secretary (PS) for Tourism Seychelles, Sherin Francis, explained that the bazaar and the Mahé Rendez-vous brand was first initiated on La Digue and eventually Praslin.
She stated that when it was time for the Mahé Rendez-vous, it was fitting to switch it up a little bit. “We realised that Mahé has quite a bit of activities that are done in the form of the bazaar in different districts, so for us, it was about doing activities that could connect us with local entrepreneurs, artisans and tourists,” she said.
In addition, the element of wellness was also brought in to support the entrepreneurs who specialise in that particular industry and not only the artisans, and also to give some diversification.
“We decided to do it on a Saturday afternoon because we know that in town there is a lot of traffic in the late afternoon. When the event gains momentum, we can also get different business owners from restaurants and shops to join in the fun,” she added.
PS Francis added that the Tourism department plans to do the event every three months making it more visible to tourists and locals alike.
However, if it gathers enough momentum with other partners it could possibly be done more often.
She noted that since the brand is still new it may take a while before it can actually gather pace.
“I imagine that once it is properly established, it may even become something like the ‘Bazar Labrin’, where it will become one of those events where tourists and locals will look forward to coming.”
Among the guests at the Mahé Rendez-vous were the Minister for Foreign Affairs & Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, and the Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship & Industry, Devika Vidot.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the Mahé Rendez-vous event on Saturday.
Photos by Louis Toussaint
