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Small Islands Voice Global Forum
Balancing different types of tourism accomodation
The previous article in this forum questioned Seychelles current tourism policy which is pitched towards the upscale market with a focus on five star resorts. This message contains further views which continue this line of thinking. Keep reading this forum for views on the other side of the debate and suggestions and case studies from small islands in other regions.
Glynn Burridge writes: I agree with the assessment of the situation in Seychelles described in the article posted by Tex Albert. Falling head over heels in love exclusively with the five-star product, besides being short-sighted in itself, cuts out an awful lot of players in the local economy and so may foster difficulties for the country in the long term.
Seychelles is a small state and exclusive policies may generate resentment which will only worsen in the future as a result of tourism-driven economic changes. This may already be happening as three- and four-star establishments, that have been the mainstay of our tourism for so long, find themselves suddenly out of favour in the new race for the ‘five-star skirt’. A ‘have’ and ‘have not’ situation fuelled by inequalities in our tourism sector is not only unacceptable in this small nation - it is dangerous!
Seychelles surely needs a balanced ‘basket’ of potential markets from the five-star down to the intimate Creole guesthouse, whose design features and management should be closely integrated with – and of clear benefit to - their local communities, as well as the environment and the economy at large. The suggestion whereby visitors might be given the opportunity of staying in small establishments, and interacting with the community, thereby directly benefiting local tourism ventures, should receive serious study in future developments.
As someone closely associated with a five-star clientele over a great many years, I am obliged to recall the fact that this segment of society tends to be rather unpredictable in their tastes and affiliations. Guarding their privacy and concerned about their safety, they may not want to interact with the population at large. A certain ‘bunker mentality’ can also sometimes prevail where they are happy to remain in ‘one-stop-shop’ resorts with other like-minded individuals, which means they may not be hiring cars, eating out, touring, (shopping) or otherwise entertaining themselves in a way that spreads the benefits of the ‘tourism dollar’.
They also have high expectations and are critical of the product if they consider that it does not measure up, in which case they have the means of getting their views widely known. The way they choose to travel is very much an extension of who they are and one has to question whether we are, or will be, able to provide enough first class seats on our aircraft to fly them all in to fill our five-star resorts and whether, indeed, this clientele will ever provide Seychelles with the (sensible) volume of tourists required to sustain a healthy economy.
A writer from Nevis in the Caribbean agreed that smaller establishments do more to stimulate the local economy than larger, foreign-owned operations. S. Singh also favoured the idea of government support for small and locally driven tourism projects, but wondered whether the government in Seychelles would even consider rethinking their tourism strategy in view of the fact that large resorts contribute so much tax revenue to government.
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