The tourism department has renewed the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL) for three hotels and awarded the Seychelles eco-label to a new accommodation entity.
Representatives of Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa, Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino, Constance Ephelia Resort and Hotel L'Archipel received their SSTL certificates from the Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Didier Dogley, in a short ceremony held at the ministry’s headquarters at Botanical House, Mont Fleuri.
This was in the presence of the tourism department’s principal secretary, Anne Lafortune, and director of product development, Sinha Levkovic.
While Hotel L'Archipel, represented by its general manager Lucas D’Offay, was being certified for the first time as compliant to the Seychelles organic standards required to be part of the certification, Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa, Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino, and Constance Ephelia Resort were being presented with a renewal of their certification acquired two years ago.
During his short address, Minister Dogley congratulated the participants on their achievement.
He mentioned his satisfaction at seeing the increasing interest of various hotels towards the sustainable tourism initiative.
He further mentioned that the SSTL certifications have been handed to 18 hotel establishments around the destination so far.
“Sustainability is the talk of the day. These past few months I have had a chance to engage into various debates regarding sustainability as a whole. From my past experiences and my recent encounters, I am glad to say that Seychelles is one of the few countries with a robust national label, which lives up to the green reputation it has worldwide,” said Minister Dogley.
SSTL certificates are awarded to hotels after they are found to be integrating sustainability practices in their business operations. Presently applicable to tourism accommodations only, the mission of the SSTL is to encourage hotels of all sizes in Seychelles to mainstream sustainability practices into their business operations to safeguard the biodiversity and culture of Seychelles.