‘Lospitalite Tourism Clubs’ for 2023 |02 October 2023

Winners of the culinary competition: Beau Vallon (primary) and ISS (secondary

Beau Vallon primary, Anse Royale secondary excel

The Beau Vallon primary and Anse Royale secondary schools boast the best ‘Lospitalite Tourism Clubs’ for 2023.

Members from both tourism clubs received their prizes in the first edition of the Lospitalite Tourism Club Award ceremony held on Friday afternoon at the University of Seychelles (UniSey) auditorium, Anse Royale.

The event was organised by the Tourism department within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism. Their prizes include a shield, a certificate and gunny bags sponsored by the Tourism department, as well as other prizes sponsored by various sponsors.

Present were the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde; the Minister for Education, Dr Justin Valentin; the principal secretary for Tourism, Sherin Francis; the director general for product development and planning from the Tourism department, Paul Lebon; directors general; members of the ‘Lospitalite: Lafyerte Sesel’ high level committee; head teachers; tourism business representatives; Lospitalite Tourism Club facilitators; sponsors among other guests.

The award is given to the best schools’ tourism clubs that performed extremely well in activities organised at national level by the Lospitalite Lafyerte Sesel team among which include competitions and environmental clean-up activities among others.

The Lospitalite Tourism Clubs forms part of the ‘Lospitalite: Lafyerte Sesel’, a campaign by the tourism department to boost competitiveness within the local tourism industry and to promote the country as a destination of choice through a high standard of service delivery.

The award for the second best Lospitalite Tourism Club in the primary category went to Takamaka school followed by the Baie St Anne Praslin school in third place.

For the secondary category, the second place awardee was the Independent School followed by Anse Boileau in third position.

During the year a quiz, tour guide, table setting, culinary and projects designing competitions were organised for the clubs as part of their programmes and those that did well were also rewarded.

There were prizes also for the student who performed well in each of the categories mentioned.

Speaking to the press, representatives from both clubs said that although it came as a surprise as they were not expecting to win, they were all the same happy to have won the overall best.

They noted that through joining the club, they have been able to learn many things happening in our tourism industry and also got to enjoy themselves while learning.

The Beau Vallon primary school has been adopted by Story Seychelles while the Anse Royale secondary school has been adopted by Mango House Seychelles, LXR Hotels & Resorts.

“I am very happy and excited, but I am also sad because we did not do well in the other competitions,” said 11-year-old P6 pupil Jayden Simeon.

“We very proud and happy and we would like to thank everybody who has been behind us and the hotel that has adopted us. When we were called we were very surprised because we had thought that we were not going to come out first after the third and second places were called out but we won it in the end,” said 15-year-old S4 student Amisha Larue.

The Lospitalite Tourism Clubs in schools is aimed at raising awareness of the tourism industry among the younger generation while capturing their interest for a career in hospitality and tourism to sustain the industry.

Participating in the clubs is a gateway for them to be ambassadors of tourism and future active promoters of good practices in the tourism industry. The clubs are adopted by various hotels and destination management companies (DMCs) and the students and teachers have the opportunity to go on various guided tours and awareness sessions on hospitality and tourism, and to experience the work life. 

In his address, Minister Radegonde congratulated every one of the 41 Lospitalite Tourism clubs for the effort made, noting that the ministry appreciates that the schools responded to its calls to set up their clubs and the devotion of the teachers who voluntarily assist with the clubs’ activities.

“Your active participation and your commitment are all that we ask of you. Make the most of the opportunities and experiences being placed at your disposal through the clubs, and I sincerely hope that by now, you have realised the wealth of opportunities that the tourism industry has in store for you. We are relying on you to take this industry by the hand and to continue its sustainable growth,” Minister Radegonde said, noting that he was extremely impressed with the skills and knowledge that the club members have gained so far on this Lospitalite journey.

Minister Radegonde also thanked all the tourism businesses that have adopted a Lospitalite Tourism club (or two) and also called on them to continue to support our young generation in shaping their young minds, fuelling their passions, and molding their characters for our leading industry.

Minister Valentin for his part thanked the Tourism department for sharing the students’ aspirations and the students for putting their best efforts in the activities organised for them.

He also thanked the various tourism establishments that have worked with the schools and supported them in their projects.

“Lastly I would like to thank the Ministry of Tourism and to tell them that the schools really appreciate the relation that we have developed together and we will be there for as long as you involve us in your tourism endeavours,” Minster Valentin said.  

Since the launch of the tourism club in February 2022, apart from the Belonie secondary, all of the 41 public and private schools – from primary to secondary level – have today been adopted by a tourism business.

In her vote of thanks, PS Francis called on the tourism club participants to continue staying engaged and active in what they have chosen to do.

The list of winners for the various competitions:

Quiz (primary category) - 1^st place – Baie St Anne, 2^nd place – Anse Etoile, 3^rd place – Grand Anse Praslin.

Quiz (secondary category) - 1^st place – Anse Royale, 2^nd place – Belonie, 3^rd place – Beau Vallon.

Tour Guiding (primary category) - 1^st place – Mont Fleuri, 2^nd place - Independent School, 3^rd place - Bel Eau.

Tour Guiding (primary category) - 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd places – Takamaka. (There was no competition in Tour Guiding for the secondary category).

Table Setting (primary category) - 1^st place – La Retraite, 2^nd place – Beau Vallon, 3^rd place – Takamaka.

Table Setting (secondary category) - 1^st place – La Digue, 2^nd place – Anse Boieau, 3^rd place – Independent School.

Culinary (primary category) - 1^st place – Beau Vallon, 2^nd place – Plaisance, 3^rd place – Takamaka.

Culinary (secondary category) - 1^st place – International School Seychelles, 2^nd place – Praslin, 3^rd place – Independent School.

Projects (primary category) - 1^st place – Takamaka, 2^nd place – Beau Vallon, 3^rd place – La Misère.

Projects (secondary category) - 1^st place – Pointe Larue, 2^nd place – Ile Perseverance, 3^rd place – Anse Boileau.

The ceremony was punctuated by song performances by members of the Bel Ombre and Mont Fleuri primary schools’ tourism clubs.

Patrick Joubert