Minister Dogley visits tourism establishments on La Digue |22 May 2018

Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Minister Didier Dogley continued his familiarisation visits of small tourism establishments on La Digue island last weekend.

On Friday , Minister Dogley visited a total of 10 small tourism establishments from different categories. This was also an opportunity to discuss their views and constraints about tourism on the island itself and at national level.

The minister also held a meeting with tourism operators on the island to discuss a draft of a proposed vision strategy for the island in order to ensure its sustainability.

Marie-France Beach Front Apartments, Fleur de Lys, Orchid Self Catering, Villa Authentique, Kot Babi and Lakaz Safran were the six self-catering guesthouses that welcomed Minister Dogley and his delegation which comprised his principal secretary Anne Lafortune and other high officials of his ministry.

Two small hotels, namely Le Repaire Boutique Hotel and Restaurant and Le Nautique Luxury Waterfront Hotel were also toured alongside La Digue Island Lodge and Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie which are bigger hotels

The operators proudly showcased their accomplishments and also shared their constraints, among which were some common issues such as the rise in drugs which has led to an increase in criminality and theft, too many vehicles on the road which has caused deterioration to road conditions and road safety issues, drainage systems around the area of central La Passe which requires maintenance and cleaning.

Congestion at the La Passe jetty where passenger ferries and cargo boats are all docked, as well as sewage issues, were also discussed and the minister assured operators that work is ongoing to remediate these two particular points.

Minister Dogley shared his satisfaction with the visit especially as all operators were positive and proudly pointed out that their occupancies have been 90% or above for the first five months of the year.

“This is very good, but at the same time we must carefully decide on the future of the island to ensure that it remains sustainable. Currently there are more than 500 rooms on La Digue and we must assess whether the available resources can sustain the introduction of more,” Minister Dogley said.

A survey which will include one-to-one interviews with the tourism operators as well as other players in the economy including fishermen, farmers and others will soon be conducted to compile a final proposed visioning plan for this beautiful island.

Minister Dogley reassured the operators that his ministry will be working in close collaboration with other key stakeholders to ensure that issues affecting their operation are appropriately dealt with.

Minister Dogley and his delegation are expected to visit Praslin soon.

The accompanying photos show Minister Dogley and his delegation visiting the various tourism establishments on La Digue.

Text: Nadia Bedier

Photos: Romano Laurence