President James Michel yesterday morning visited several small tourism establishments at Bel Ombre and Beau Vallon in the north of Mahé.
These included small family run bungalows, guest houses, luxury apartments, restaurants, pizzeria and a dive centre.

President Michel was accompanied on the visit by Tourism and Culture Minister Alain St Ange and officials from his ministry and the President’s Office.

The visit was aimed at encouraging Seychellois entrepreneurs who are taking part and contributing in the development of the tourism industry by building and running their own small establishments.
“I think this is very good and very healthy for the economy that we empower the Seychellois to seize the opportunity to take part in the development of the tourism industry,” President Michel told the press after he had toured ten establishments.

“I was really impressed by what I have seen and all the operators have expressed satisfaction at the way their business is developing and I would encourage other Seychellois who want to join the business to also take the opportunity made available for them and help create wealth for themselves and for the country,” added President Michel.

“It was important in the beginning to focus on large hotels to get the necessary volume in order to give a boost to the tourism industry, which was not performing well,” President Michel noted.

“This strategy has worked well through incentives the government offered and the industry has now picked up and we have succeeded in making visitors eager to visit Seychelles,” the President added.
“I believe now the time has come to empower Seychellois entrepreneurs for them to benefit from the industry as well,” he said.
“It is important for me to give more attention to important sectors of our economy,” said the President.

Noting that in the north of Mahé alone there are around 70 guesthouses, President Michel said this is very encouraging.

“It shows that Seychellois entrepreneurs are heeding my call to leve debrouye and are taking the initiative, are interested to join the business and help develop the industry,” he pointed out.

The President said government efforts to continue improving the ease of doing business by making access to credit easier and reducing bureaucratic red tapes are all contributing to encourage more Seychellois to join the development in the tourism industry.

But Mr Michel pointed out that the visit has also allowed him to see areas where the government could help improve the environment to make it more interesting as the largest tourist area in the country where visitors and locals alike could enjoy.

“There is a need for more pavements and walkways and street lightings. These are important for the security of both visitors and locals,” added the President.

“It was also an opportunity to see and get detailed explanations on site by Minister St Ange on how the new promenade at Beau Vallon will be built,” he said.

Echoing President Michel’s view that small entrepreneurs should be encouraged to join in the development of the tourism industry, Minister St Ange dispelled the belief that large five-star tourism establishments are far too strong for the smaller establishments to compete with.

“There was a time when we had to bring in five-star hotels through different brands in order to reposition Seychelles as a reputed holiday destination but now we have to consolidate our tourism industry and in so doing we have to bring in Seychellois entrepreneurs. We can never consolidate the industry with foreigners only,” added Mr St Ange.

He added it was time Seychellois claim back the industry and stressed that as more airlines fly here bringing more visitors, the country also needs big hotels to help market and develop Seychelles as a holiday destination. 

“But they (the large hotels) will never consolidate the industry in the long term,” Minister St Ange stressed.

He explained that smaller establishments have the advantage of merging in and blending in the community to ensure tourists spend and money stays in the country.
The fact that the majority of the establishments have all-Seychellois staff, Minister St Ange said this is a great advantage for the country as small hotels tend to employ people in their community.

He said a lot more needs to be done through the hotel association to help the small establishments market their products and be more visible. 
With regard to products Minister St Ange said the President has had a chance to see different kinds of products some of which are very good and some average. He noted that the Seychelles Tourism Board now has to work with small establishments to advise and encourage them on the way to improve their products.

The establishments visited were the: - Treasure Cove, a new 10 bedroom self-catering project belonging to Marie-France McGregor and still under construction but expected to open end of September;
Casadani, a 23-room guesthouse owned by businessman Danny Loizeau which opened in 2006; Daniella’s Bungalows which comprise five two-bedroom bungalows owned by Daniella Pillay and started some 20 years ago; Marie-Laure Suites owned by Captain Edmond Hoareau, set up in 2009 and comprising nine apartments and 10 other rooms; Sable d’Or Luxury Apartments, a bedroom establishment owned by Vicky Lanza and opened only in June this year; Clef des Iles, a guest house with four apartments and eight rooms opened in 2007 and owned by Marquise David; Hanneman Apartments comprising seven apartments and 10 rooms which opened in 2007 and is owned by Manfred Mankelein; Baobab Pizzeria owned by Octavie Michel; Blue Sea Divers Centre owned by Sylvain Montier and the Boat House owned by Richard Mancienne.

The accompanying photographs show President Michel during his visit to the various tourism establishments yesterday.

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