A delegation of small hotel owners from the Beau Vallon area of Mahe called on Alain St.Ange, the Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, to discuss what the hoteliers described as challenges they were being faced with.

Minister St.Ange said as he thanked the gathered small Seychellois hotel owners, and said he was and will continue to manage his Ministry with an open-door policy and that he will continue to take the different challenges facing the tourism industry as his very own challenges. “I will continue to hear your appeals and your challenges. You are part and parcel of the tourism industry, and whatever difficulties you are faced with, are and will be seen as industry challenges,” Minister St.Ange said.

The small hotel owners, all operating in the Beau Vallon Area of Mahe, explained to the Tourism Minister that they are faced with an increased level of noise coming from the beach or from parking along the beach. They also tabled the problems of cleanliness around the beach area, which they claimed was disintegrating fast. The problem of speed by vehicles from the Boat House area to Mike’s Shop was also table and discussed as was the need for pavements and litter bins.

Minister Alain St.Ange took time to elaborate on the Beau Vallon rehabilitation project, which the Seychelles government as a whole was standing together to ensure that the Golden Mile of Mahe – the Beach of Beau Vallon – became the asset it should be for the island’s tourism industry. The Minister invited all the hoteliers present to attend the Beau Vallon meeting called for the industry for this Saturday where the proposed draft of the rehabilitation plans for Beau Vallon would be tabled. The Minister assured the gathered hoteliers that their concerns had been taken up already and invited them to air the other more pertinent points they had, which could help make Beau Vallon the landmark beach it deserves to be.

The Seychellois hoteliers also discussed their desire of constituting themselves into a small group to work with the authorities to defend and protect the Beau Vallon tourism industry players. To their proposition, the Minister for Tourism said that they needed to only become a sub-committee of the SHTA, the industry’s association representing Beau Vallon. “This is already working for La Digue. We do not need another association but just another sub-committee with specific responsibilities for Beau Vallon in this case. I really believe that Mr. Louis D’Offay, the Chairman of the Industry’s Association, would welcome such a proposition,” the Minister said.