aTP- Arab tourism portal News- The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Mr. Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, proceeded to Praslin Island last week, as he continues to visit tourism businesses, mainly holiday accommodations, in Seychelles.
Praslin, the Seychelles’ second most populated island, is home to many tourism businesses both big and small. Boasting lush tropical vegetation, clear turquoise waters and powder-white beaches that often make the list of the world’s best beaches, the island is a firm favourite among travelers to the archipelago.
Minister Loustau-Lalanne accompanied by the Principal Secretary for Tourism, Mrs. Anne Lafortune, first stopped at Ile de Palmes, where they were greeted by the hotel’s owner Mr. Christopher Gill.
Located along the beach at Anse Takamaka, Ile de Palmes has 18 self-catering establishments offering 30 rooms in total. The accommodations are surrounded by vegetation including local fruit trees and located on what is believed to be a former pirate treasure site.
Mr Gill took the opportunity to talk to the Minister about his plans to seek approval for further development of his property to include mountain view villas and villas built on stilts, similar to what is offered in the Maldives.
From Anse Takamaka, the next stop was at Anse Lazio, where lies one of Seychelles’ most photographed and world-class beaches. Minister Loustau-Lalanne visited Mr Richelieu Verlaque’s Bonbon Plume restaurant, which has been standing at Anse Lazio for nearly 30 years.
Built of natural materials to depict a traditional Creole architecture, the feet-in-the-sand restaurant is open Monday to Sunday. Chef Allen Brioche who has been working at Bonbon Plume for 25 years said they offer typical Creole dishes, adding that their coconut curries are much appreciated by the clients.
Mr Verlaque also took the opportunity to showcase ongoing work to renovate an existing building on his property, which will be turned into a 3 rooms guesthouse. The entrepreneur also plans to build 5 bungalows of 2 rooms each and a new restaurant in the near future, as he expands his tourism business.
While at Anse Lazio, the delegation also visited Le Chevalier Restaurant and Le Chevalier Bay Guest House where they met with the owner’s son Vito Vargiolou. The restaurant which offers a little bit of everything is open 7 days a week mostly for lunch. The guesthouse of 10 rooms has been in operation on the same property for the last 18 years. Among the issues Mr Vargiolou discussed with the Minister is the desire to have a road access that could lead directly to the property to improve the flow of clients to the restaurant.
At Anse Lazio, Minister Loustau-Lalanne also had a chat with a group of small contractors who are doing a good job keeping the popular beach clean and tidy.
One of the smallest establishment which the delegation visited while on Praslin is Villa Manoir. Located at Anse Boudin, the self-catering establishment of 2 rooms, is owned by Mr. Leon Souffe and his wife. A snack bar is also nearing completion at the same establishment, which will be used to allow the visitors to sample some of the popular Creole dishes.
Le Domaine de La Reserve at Anse Petit Cours boasting 40 rooms, spread across beachfront deluxe villas and family suites as well as colonial superior villas, was the last and largest hotel visited.
Bought by entrepreneur Joseph Albert a little over four years ago, the hotel is located within the Curieuse Marine Park.
The Minister was appraised of work done to refurbish the rooms and furniture to have them offer a mixture of old and new Creole chic with a rustic feel. During discussions with the owners, Mr Albert and Mrs. Sylvie Fournier, the Minister and his delegation learnt that most of the hotels’ clients are from Europe and that the establishment employs nearly 100 employees, of which 93 percent are Seychellois.
While they took the opportunity to showcase their successes and address constraints to the Tourism authorities, from Ile de Palmes to Domaine de La Reserve, it was evident that one of the main concerns of the hoteliers, was the lack of sights and activities, including excursions that would entice visitors holidaying on Praslin to spend more time and money on the island.
Ways to maximize the potential that exists to develop more activities that visitors could undertake on Curieuse Island, a marine national park, located off the north coast of Praslin, was among suggestions highlighted.
“We have had several good ideas presented by the small, medium and big hotels and I see this as a good initiative on their part. We now need to follow up to facilitate the implementation of these ideas together with other ministries that would be involved,” said Mr Loustau-Lalanne.
“They are not things that would cost a lot of money we
