The management of Wilderness Holdings with their renowned and now world-famous, mid-ocean granitic North Island in the Seychelles is in final stages of discussions with the Collins Group with their Coral Island of Desroches Island Resort of the Seychelles to combine their skills.

They said the venture is “aimed at creating an entity that will combine the skills of the two founding partners to develop, manage, and market a series of inner and/or outer islands as renowned experience-based ecotourism products.”

“Once talks are finalized, the new company will set about raising venture capital to enable it to realize the ambitious vision,” said Chief Executive Kenneth Collins. “We believe that the synergy from these combined skills will be beneficial to the tourism industry of Seychelles,” said Andy Payne of Wilderness.

They announced the plans at the Island Development Company’s hangar at the Seychelles International Airport, in a ceremony attended by government ministers Jean Paul Adam (Foreign Affairs); Rolph Payet (Environment & Energy); Alain St.Ange (Tourism & Culture); Glenny Savy, the CEO of the Seychelles Islands Development Company; Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, the Principle Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the islands administrators; and representatives of the two resorts.

Mr. Glenny Savy, the CEO of the Seychelles Islands Development Company (IDC), said when he addressed the invited guests that the islands of the Seychelles remained the assets for the future. “The IDC launched in the development of tourism on the outer island groups, because these islands are and remain real unique selling points for Seychelles. Today we are moving to consolidate what we started many years ago, and the Collins Group and the Wilderness Holdings partnership will open new opportunities in and for tourism on our outer islands,” Mr. Savy said.

The Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange, said the “marriage between the two companies” showed their success and that they were poised to reach even higher.

He said the government is happy to see the two companies had succeeded by launching operations on outer islands where others were hesitant to do so and pledged to them “all the support from the Seychelles Tourism Board and his ministry – for now to make it known that Desroches and North are together as a body. “Our coral islands are listed as our unique selling points and when combined with our unique mid-ocean granitic islands, the experience is doubled and possibilities endless,” Minister St.Ange said.

The two companies have ties with similar operators overseas, for example in Africa, and they hope to attract visitors who could combine wild-game viewing safaris with the Seychelles paradise experience in single packages.

The Seychelles Island Development Company has also made it known that their island of Alphonse may also be taken over by this new grouping. Alphonse is the much sought-after resort for fly fishing enthusiasts. It is ranked among the best in the world for bone fishing in its clean and clear extensive lagoon.