Car hire operators raise issues affecting their business |31 October 2012

A press conference was held recently at the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association secretariat at OJ Mall, Victoria, to let the relevant authorities know of the business situation within that industry.

Michael Lavigne, the body’s chairperson, said there is a total of 159 car hire licences currently in force locally and it is now possible for an individual to get a licence with only five cars.

He said companies which have been in this industry for a long time and have reached a limit on the number of vehicles they can have are not permitted to go any further.

The association feels there is a conflict as new licences are being issued for new operators to come in the industry with only five cars, while the bigger companies are not able to grow any further, he added.

“We are concerned and we feel that there is a need to seek better regulations on both sides. We have no problem with the new operators coming in the industry,” he said.

Mr Lavigne said the body has recommended that there should be a minimum of 10 cars for a person to be viable as a car hire operator.

He added that this is an issue that the association feels should be better addressed by the concerned authorities.

Another issue which he talked about was theft. He said a lot of vehicles belonging to car hire operators are being vandalised on Mahe and Praslin, especially in the dark or quiet locations.

Mr Lavigne said operators working with hotels are being encouraged to work together to secure parking environment for both cars and guests.

The association’s vice-chairperson Vincent Padayachy called on those concerned to ensure that security cameras are well maintained.
 
He added that individuals working in the car hire business need to be more serious.
“Someone owning a car hire business needs to have salespersons, an office space and a minimum of 10 cars,” he said.

Mr Padayachy said car hire operators are being greatly affected by these issues.
Another point which was raised was the large groups of foreigners which come to Seychelles more thatn once during a year.

He said the association needs to be allowed to play a major role in this process, as most of the time these individuals hire a lot of cars.