Category Archives: Seychelles

Tourism property owners on La Digue truly understand the importance of the tourism industry and go to great lengths to offer high standards of care to visitors coming from all over the world.

The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Mr. Maurice Loustau-Lalanne said this on Friday last week, after visiting tourism properties on the island, as part of his ongoing door-to-door visits to holiday accommodations in Seychelles.

This was his first visit to tourism businesses on La Digue the Seychelles third inhabited island since he took charge of the tourism portfolio in December last year.

Accompanied by the Principal Secretary for tourism Mrs. Anne Lafortune, they visited 14 tourism establishments from a one-bedroom self-catering apartment to a 70-room hotel ranging from quite recently opened accommodations to those that have been standing for a good number of years. The visit was an opportunity for them to see whether the properties were up to the required standard and to have a better appreciation of their successes and constraints.

Starting off at Anse Gaulette, the minister and his team called at the Le Relax Luxury Lodge a small hotel comprising of six villas as well as Lakaz an Bwa a two-bedroom self-catering. Both are quite new on the market having opened within the last two years.

Owned by Gerald Iglesias and his wife a retired couple originally from France Lakaz an Bwa, which has been built entirely of local wood, is one example of a tourism establishment on La Digue that has strived to showcase the Creole architecture.

Granite self-catering at La Passe was the smallest establishment visited. Owned by Sylvia Adrienne who has worked for several years in the tourism industry before venturing into her own business, the one-bedroom self-catering apartment is more of a family accommodation.

While at La Passe, the Minister also visited Chez Ahmed a two-bedroom self-catering, Kot Babi a nine-bedroom guesthouse that has been in business for 14 years, as well as the La Digue self-catering, which boasts six studio apartments located on the first floor of the recently built Mills Complex.

Chez Marston a small hotel of five rooms and a restaurant that has existed for a good 25 years is another property which the Minister visited at La Passe, where he met with the owner Mr. Marston St Ange who is well known character on La Digue. Right across the road from Chez Marston, Mr. Loustau-Lalanne stopped at the construction site of a new five-bedroom hotel, which Mr. Jos St Ange is planning to open in November this year.

The delegation then headed to La Digue Island Lodge at Anse Reunion the largest establishment to be visited. The 70-room hotel owned by Mr. Gregoire Payet has been standing for around 45 years. They were welcomed by the owners daughter Mrs. Brigitte Payet, who said the hotel was quite popular among honeymooners, while she showcased ongoing work to improve the standard of the hotel.

The delegation also called at Elje villa and Agnes Cottage two self-catering establishments, Villa Veuve a small hotel with 20 rooms and Petras guest house a three-room bed and breakfast guesthouse all situated at Anse reunion. At LUnion, the minister visited Chloes cottage and Villa Source DArgent. Mr. Loustau-Lalanne visited La Digue just a few days ahead of the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the Patron Saint of the island on August 15, which is the busiest period of the year for the island. This meant that all of the establishments visited were fully booked.

At the end of his tour, the minister said that he had been able to ascertain that the owners most of the Seychellois were very good at marketing their properties, as they confirmed that their full occupancy was not only for the August feast, but will last for the next two to three months. Most of them noted that they were making use of booking websites such as Agoda, Airbnb, booking.com, seyvilla among others to market their business. When it comes to visitors, Germans topped the list of tourists that choose to holiday on La Digue. Visitors from Italy, France and Reunion also proved to be quite popular.

With regards to the level of standard, the minister expressed satisfaction with what he had seen during his visit to the various establishments.

They have gone to great lengths to improve the standard of their products. I think they know that we will be introducing a new hotel classification system soon and they are getting ready before this happens. Everything Ive seen from the one-bedroom self-catering establishment to a 70-room hotel, shows that they are all improving their products, said Minister Loustau-Lalanne.

The owners of the different tourism accommodations on La Digue also took the opportunity to raise several concerns to the minister. This ranged from lack of street lighting, problems with water and electricity supply, road condition, availability of local manpower, among others.

Minister Loustau-Lalanne said: There are some issues and I managed to solve one or two on the spot, but there are others that I need to cross check with other colleague ministers because they are not of my responsibility directly and we will attend to those as we continue to do our work. The minister also welcomed the desire of the various business owners to contribute towards the cost of solving the some of the issues highlighted, which he described as a good display of public-private partnership in the tourism industry.

Many of the establishments also highlighted their intention and desire to increase their room capacity to be able to expand their business to accommodate more clients and raised their concerns vis--vis a moratorium that is limiting new tourism establishments to five rooms only, based on a carrying capacity study done for the island.

Commenting on the matter, Minister Loustau Lalanne said: We need to look at it not on a case by case basis, but rather in its entirety to see what needs to be done to contain this resounding success which we are seeing today on La Digue.

The Minister has already visited a range of hotels on the Seychelles three main inhabited islands Mah, Praslin and La Digue in his endeavor to have a better appreciation of the various services and products on offer, as well as to appreciate the successes and gain an understanding of challenges faced by these establishments.

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Seychelles' Tourism Minister pleased with level of standard following visit to small and large accommodations on La ... - eTurboNews

With German visitors topping its list of clients, the Islander Hotel on Praslin, is another tourism establishment in Seychelles that has been rated highly by HolidayCheck the largest German-speaking portal that allows Germain tourists to review their travel and holidays experiences.

HolidayCheck certificates are given to establishments scoring highly based on excellent reviews received from visitors. The Islander Hotel was awarded a grade of 5.8/6 for 2017.

This is the second consecutive year that the establishment receives the HolidayCheck certificate, although it has been rated highly by the same travel website in the past.

Located at Anse Kerlan, the Islander Hotel is a small family-run establishment located a few steps away from the beach.

The establishment, which for some years has also received the TripAdvisors Certificate of Excellence, offers 12 rooms all of them bungalow-style except for one villa.

The owner, Mrs. Miette Godley said they have been receiving German visitors since the hotel opened its doors in 1991, adding that most of their German clients book their holidays through tour operators, both in Germany and Seychelles.

Germany is currently the number one source of visitors to Seychelles having sent 28,210 tourists to the island nation compared to 21,294 for the same period in 2016 thus representing a growth of 32 percent.

We were among the first tourism establishment within the Anse Kerlan region on Praslin to open its doors to tourists, even when all reservations was done by fax or telephone. Today we can acknowledge major improvement when it comes to increasing visitors from the German market, especially now with the internet which makes things a lot easier and faster, said Mrs. Godley.

We have been welcoming German guests since we open our doors to the tourism trade. Although at a one point the Italians were overtaking them, after a few years we saw Germany went back to being our number one source of guests, she added.

Aside of the accommodation facilities, which include their own kitchen, the Islander Hotel also has a restaurant on site providing mainly seafood and Creole cuisines. The owners residence, which is also close to the hotel allows them to offer a more personal service to their guests, who Mrs. Godley said are mainly middle-class tourists.

Mrs. Godley has expressed her appreciation to her staff and the Praslin community in general who she says work hard to offer a good service to the thousands of visitors that choose to holiday at the various establishments on Praslin.

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Praslin's Islander Hotel: Another Seychelles' tourism establishment rated highly by HolidayCheck in 2017 - eTurboNews

Seychelles has over the years become a popular honeymoon destination for newlyweds looking for the ultimate escape to spend their first days as husband and wife.

One hotel in the Indian Ocean archipelago, Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, is now offering couples on their way to becoming a trio, another kind of experience.

Pregnant guests staying at resort located at Baie Lazare in the south of the main island, Mah, can now enjoy a babymoon experience.

A babymoon is a romantic vacation taken by parents-to-be before their baby is born or by new parents having just welcomed their little bundle of joy.

Four Seasons Resort Seychelles is offering the babymoon experience specifically for parents-to-be. This new experience, which the resort said is not chargeable started on Monday, August 7.

This was prompted by the desire to ensure that pregnant guests are made as comfortable as possible during their stay.

Guests indicating their pregnancy while making their reservations will be automatically enrolled into the babymoon experience in luxurious treehouse style villa depending on its availability.

A special kit of pregnancy must-haves from pool float, mobile phone for direct access to the Cravings Hotline to order their favorite snack or essential comfort item wherever they may be in the resort are just two of what the babymooners can expect.

The resorts General Manager, Adrian Messerli said: We often welcome couples who travel to our resort when pregnant, so our new babymoon is a way to ensure they have the most romantic experience together whilst also ensuring comfort and complete relaxation.

All of the elements of the babymoon have been designed with the needs of pregnancy in mind, to ensure that the guests can focus fully on enjoying their final romantic trip together before the new arrival, he added.

Expectant couples can also choose additional experiences including pregnancy yoga, massage or in-villa-dining at additional cost.

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Pampering in paradise for parents-to-be: Four Seasons Resort Seychelles offers new babymoon experience - eTurboNews

The World Bank issued its first Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) on Seychelles on 2ndAugust 2017. Its findings will inform the World Banks operational work in the country and contribute to public debate, including as an input to the currently ongoing new national development planning process.

According to the SCD, Seychelles economic growth performance has been strong, both over the long term and recently, and employment rates are high. However, as this analysis demonstrates, that growth has been driven mainly by factor accumulation. Although Seychelles is considered to have a high-income economy, our challenge now is to sustain growth by raising productivity.

While absolute poverty levels in Seychelles are low, inequality is significant,saidAlex Sienaert, Senior Country Economist and the reports main author,Increasing Seychellois direct participation in an increasingly skills-intensive, sophisticated economy is the paramount challenge for the countrys social sectors.

The report indicates the need for a development model that fosters strong economic inclusion. In Seychelles, the labour market is increasingly rewarding workers with scarce technical and job-relevant skills. The pressure is on for the education system to equip graduates with the tools they need to reap the benefits of the growing opportunities offered by the Seychelles increasingly sophisticated economy. Additionally, social spending is already at generous levels, and needs to be better targeted, to shore up the sustainability of this spending, boost its impact on protecting the vulnerable and empower Seychellois to get high quality jobs.

The report also suggests that increasing state performance is another of the key challenges facing Seychelles today. A high-performing economy requires a public sector that is efficient enough to deliver high quality public services, agile enough to respond to emerging priorities, and small enough not to divert scarce financial and human resources away from the private sector.

The report adds that Seychelles has made much progress on this front and can build on this further to position government and the state-owned enterprises to support a high-performing, high participation economy.

It is to be recalled that this report follows recent insights shared by Maliki Jivan in Today Newspaper, where she proposed a series of measures to sustain growth by raising productivity, including a commitment to business, to stimulate FDIs, to encourage FOREX earning businesses and exports, and for Government to be a facilitator of business.

The time to move ahead and look at the tourism and hospitality operators is now.

Seychelles businesses are not competing among themselves. They have to be seen as the preferred holiday in advertised tourism publications. Our Seychelles packages need to be noticed and the businesses need to be able to afford to be remain visible.

The World Bank has issued its first Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) on Seychelles. The report says that the challenge now for Seychelles is to sustain its growth by raising productivity. Raising productivity in a country so dependent on tourism is to ensure that the islands tourism industry is consolidated for the long term. Many Seychellois have invested their life savings into tourism and they need the security for their investments. Others are employed in this industry and they are breadwinners for their families.

Ten years ago, the financial crash shocked the world and Seychelles. Our islands have fared well and came out as leaders, but is it time to give a boost to the players in this fragile industry to ensure they are able to work facing the situation on hand.

VAT remains a cost which our Government insists can be passed on to the consumer, but in reality, is just absorbed by the operator who remains scared of pricing themselves out of the market. Germany and France have been innovative in splitting where VAT is applicable and at what percentage. They have separated the infrastructure and the consumption with a lesser VAT on an infrastructure of the hotels BED ONLY rate and countrys applicable VAT on extras, such as meals, bar etc. We could stand to learn a thing or two from Germany and France in this regard.

The tourism trade should be encouraged to strive to actively raise the visibility of Seychelles and ensure that the islands remain relevant in the competitive world of tourism. Value for money and the necessity to better the service ethics will need to follow. Customer service skills will need to be honed and improved if we want, as a Nation, to keep tourists coming back to our sandy shores.

Managers in the tourism industry must ensure that their establishments staff are upholding the standard that is expected of them. Importantly, the State must allow managers the freedom to fulfill their employment functions. A recent incident involving interference and micromanagement by the State on Praslin Island has prompted fear in the industry that every foreign manager will be reluctant to discipline staff or to encourage their staff members to improve their job performance.In the incident in question, the State allegedly declined to renew a foreign managers work permit following backlash from the local staff at the establishment. This will inevitably lead to a further drop in the level of service and in the notion of value for money in Seychelles.There is a real risk that competent and capable foreign managers will think twice about taking up employment in Seychelles for fear of unnecessary interference by the State.

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First World Bank Country Diagnostic on Seychelles - eTurboNews

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today welcomed increased exchanges between the legislatures of India and Seychelles.

He made the remarks while receiving a 12-member delegation of the Seychelles Parliament led by its Speaker Patrick Pillay.

Modi appreciated the role of the legislatures of the two countries in upholding strong and vibrant ties between India and Seychelles as close partners, including in the Indian Ocean, the PMO said.

He recalled his own productive visit to Seychelles in March 2015 that helped both countries further deepen cooperation, the PMO said in a statement.

The delegation shared their perspectives with prime minister on further strengthening cooperation and people-to- people exchanges between the two countries.

The Seychelles delegation also called on Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in Parliament House.

Mahajan said India considers Seychelles not only as a maritime neighbour but also as a trusted friend and a strong strategic partner.

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PM for increased exchanges between legislatures of India, Seychelles - Moneycontrol.com

Books An excerpt fromRicochets: From Gordonstoun to Africas Wars: The Life of Mercenary Soldier Peter Duffy.

In November 1981, Capt Umesh Saxena, piloting an Air India plane, landed in Seychelles in the middle of a counter coup attempt to overthrow President Albert Rene. The plane had come from Zimbabwe and was on its way to Bombay. The airport was locked down due to a battle between the security forces and the mercenaries. A simple plan to enter the country through immigration had gone horribly wrong.

The mercenaries, under the command of Col Mad Mike Hoare and his second in command Peter Duffy, entered the plane and got Capt Saxena to fly to South Africa, which had no diplomatic relations with India. Duffy continued to insist for years afterwards that there was no hijacking; the Natal Supreme Court did not agree with him and sentenced him to five years, though he was out after 21 months. A colourful character who had been to one of Britains premier public schools Gordonstoun and had been working in South Africa as a press photographer when he got involved in the counter coup plot, Duffy continued to live in Durban after being released. In October 2006, Duffyvisited Saxena in his Mumbai home.

A new book on Duffy by South African journalist Graham Linscott has just been published, but even as plans were being made to launch it, news came on August 4 that Duffy had suddenly died.

In this exclusive excerpt from Ricochets: From Gordonstoun to Africas Wars: The Life of Mercenary Soldier Peter Duffy, Linscott describes how a simple plan to enter Seychelles went awry.

All was going according to plan. The Air Swaziland Fokker Friendship had landed without incident about midday. The Frothblowers had been through immigration without any problem. Now it was customs, and they passed in loose groups through the nothing to declare green gate. Their bags were already being stacked on mini-buses outside the terminal building, in batches depending which hotel they were booked for. The few passengers who were not part of the Frothblowers mission also made their way through.

One was a Seychellois Creole who had boarded in the Comores. He was returning from a holiday, resplendent in cream linen slacks and brightly coloured shirt. He seemed prett y pleased with himself. One of the customs officers signalled him to open his bag. The man protested, then complied. Reaching in, the customs officer pulled out a bunch of litchis, a tropical fruit the passenger had bought in the Comores but which it was illegal to bring into the Seychelles for reasons of plant disease control. The exchange between the passenger and the customs officer became heated. The customs man produced a copy of the regulations and began preparing some kind of document for a fine. The Seychellois exploded with rage.

You do this to me because I am a Creole! You dont do it to these other people! He indicated the Frothblowers who were filing through.

At which another customs officer stopped Johan Fritz and asked him to open his bag. Duffy was next in line and went cold. Reaching into his own bag, he pulled out a rubber bathtub duck and squeaked it at the customs officer, hoping to distract him and disarm him. The officer ignored it as he felt around in the bag and found it obviously had a false bottom. He began pulling the bag apart. Duffy ran to the exit to where the bags were being piled on the minibuses.

Get the bags down! I think weve been rumbled!

He ran back, to see a customs officer rushing out of an office with an AK-47 with a wooden butt. The Frothblowers were all of them pulling out their weapons by now, clipping in the ammunition. All hell broke loose as they opened up and the customs officer with the rifle went down, wounded though not fatally. Duffy dived for cover as the shooting broke out. Beside him Fritz dropped stone dead, shot through the heart by a stray bullet from one of his own men. The firing quietened. The Frothblowers fanned out and took control of the entire terminal, which was barely defended. Seychellois airport staff were herded together and told to sit tight. Two Frothblowers went into the control tower and took over. The airport was secure but the danger came from the military barracks, not far away near the end of the airport runway, which were known to contain about two hundred Tanzanian troops. The alarm would certainly have been raised by now, by radio or telephone.

All this threatened disaster. The plan had been for the Frothblowers to infiltrate, settle in and only days later give cutting-edge support when the Seychellois themselves went into rebellion. Hoare decided on an immediate attack on the barracks, to seize the armoury and hopefully neutralise the Tanzanians as a force.

The advance party had come to the airport as incognito back-up, and when things went wrong Hoare ordered them into the mini-moke tourist vehicles they had brought with them for a full frontal attack on the barracks, the sooner the better. They set off and a brisk exchange of fire ensued at the gates of the barracks. But a nasty surprise lay in store. None of the advance party had noticed a 7.62mm anti-aircraft gun mounted just inside the barracks perimeter and this opened up on them to terrifying effect. They had to fall back for cover in the surrounding bush and Aubrey Brookes, a special forces man originally from Rhodesia, was badly wounded in the thigh. (He lost contact with his comrades and was eventually captured by the Seychellois).

The afternoon wore on. The light began to fail. The Frothblowers were in the stickiest of situations. They had the airport but nothing else. The well-armed Tanzanian force and the Seychellois army would soon move in. As darkness fell an armoured vehicle trundled down the road toward the terminal building. But the Frothblowers had anticipated such a thing and had strung a roadblock of civilian vehicles across the road. The armoured cars occupants tried to smash their way through, to ride across the blockage but ended up seesawing on top of it, unable to move forward or backward or train the machinegun. At least that threat was neutralised. Then mortars began to whistle and crunch about the airfield, coming from the direction of the army barracks. Vehicles were moving on the airfield and the terminal and control tower came under sporadic fire. The Air Swaziland De Havilland, still parked there, was riddled with bullets and shrapnel, though it never caught fire.

Then another heavy vehicle was heard on the approach road. It turned out to be an armoured car, this time approaching just off-road. But it fared no better than the first. Its wheels started spinning in the soft sand, it was on its chassis, unable to move forward or back. The Frothblowers surrounded it. They slapped mud over its periscope, stood on top and rapped on the closed turret.

Come out with your hands up! They said it in English, French and Swahili. There was no response. Come out or well burn you out with petrol! Still no response.

A bottle was found and filled with petrol. An improvised wick was inserted. The Molotov cocktail. They repeated the warning, rapping on the turret. There was still no response. Right, said Duffy. Somebody give me a light.

But nobody in the group smoked. Nobody had matches or a lighter. They rapped on the turret again. Hang on a bit. Were going to fetch some matches.

Graham Linscott Ricochets: From Gordonstoun to Africas Wars: The Life of Mercenary Soldier Peter Duffy Nomapix, June 2017

If there was a vestige of grim humour in this situation, it evaporated when the matches were brought. The Molotov cocktail was flung at the armoured car, which was instantly enveloped in flame. It was burning inside as well, as the petrol seeped in and next thing the hatch burst open and an armed Tanzanian appeared and was cut down by automatic fire before he had the chance to even aim his weapon. Then two Seychellois came out slowly, hands in the air. They were terrified.

Duffy had them marched to the area of the terminal where Hoare had set up command HQ. They were interrogated at length, through an interpreter, as to the disposition of the Tanzanian troops, their numbers and their armaments. The Frothblowers still hoped to fight their way out of this one, igniting the rebellion which they had come to support. Eventually Hoare was satisfied that his prisoners had told him all they could.

Thank you, he said. You may go now. Go? They were absolutely astonished.

Yes, go home. Tell everyone we are not here to attack the Seychellois people, we are here to liberate them.

Unable to believe their luck, the two prisoners ran off into the night. The mortar fire and heavy machinegun fire were building up. Frontal attack seemed imminent. The Frothblowers were indeed in a sticky situation.

In the control tower, Vernon Prinsloo, an ex-Rhodesian who had been national light-heavyweight boxing champion, sat with the Seychellois flight controller as mortar shell bursts and gunfire punctuated the night about the airfield. The controller had a serious attack of the jitters and spent much of the time beneath his desk. Then suddenly the radio crackled into life. It was an Air India flight from Harare, Zimbabwe, bound for Bombay, seeking permission to land. Mahe was a refuelling stop. This raised a moral problem. The aircraft could hardly be encouraged to land in the midst of a battle for control of the airport. Yet Prinsloo could not be totally explicit about the problem; it would have been radioed instantly about the world and the counter-coup attempt already severely compromised would be condemned internationally. Prinsloo advised against landing. The Air India flight should go on to Mauritius instead.

Then the Air India captain did something Duffy and his companions find puzzling to this day. He put the aircraft into a holding pattern for a good 50 minutes, burning up fuel while he discussed the position with the control tower, until eventually he had no option other than to land. Meanwhile, the Tanzanians and Seychellois army naturally presumed the mystery aircraft to be carrying reinforcements for the invaders and were ready to shoot at it with everything they had. In fact the aircraft carried civilians, including several VIPs in the Zimbabwean government, who were no doubt alarmed by the delay in landing but had no idea quite how precarious their position was. Nor did the Air India captain, Irmish (sic) Saxena or Colonel Hoare and the Frothblowers for that matter know that at least one truck was standing on the runway.

Captain Saxena decided to land. As he approached, the Tanzanians did have the decency to fire two red flares, warning him to abort. But he came in anyway, tracers arcing wildly but inaccurately after his aircraft as it touched down in the night. There was a sickening bang as a parked truck caught a trim baffle near the undercarriage and tore it off, but the lurching aircraft managed to stay on course and slow, the engines screeching in reverse thrust. Three feet closer to the undercarriage and the aircraft would certainly have cartwheeled, killing everyone on board.

As Colonel Hoare watched from the terminal, he said to Duffy: If anything happens to that plane, well get the blame. But the gods were on the side of the passengers and aircrew. The Boeing 707 taxied into position, engines still screaming, and one of the Frothblowers drove Duffy out to it on the mobile gangway. A door opened and a figure appeared. Duffy was at the top of the steps, his AK-47 slung over his shoulder.

Are you the captain? He had to cup his hands and yell above the still-screaming engines.

Im the first officer.

I need to speak to the captain.

Come in.

Duffy was led to the flight deck where he was introduced to Saxena. He explained the situation. The Air India flight had flown into an attempted counter-coup. Control of the airport was still being contested. Saxena, who had once been an officer in the Indian Air Force, asked if he could meet Hoare. He, the first officer and the navigator were driven to the terminal.

Why did you land the aircraft? Hoare asked as they were introduced. He never did get a satisfactory answer. They discussed the options, which were precious few. Saxena said he wanted to leave first thing next morning after refuelling. But the mortar barrage was intensifying. He changed his mind. He would refuel right away and take off as soon as possible.

But how could he take a passenger aircraft through the hell of tracer bullets and shrapnel that was developing outside? Could a cease-fire be negotiated? Dozens of Seychellois airport officials were still there under guard, and somebody was found to telephone the presidency and put Captain Saxena on the line. An astonishing dialogue followed between President Albert Rene and Saxena, who explained that this was a civilian flight that carried some senior Zimbabwean political figures. It had absolutely no connection with the coup attempt, of which he had only just been informed.

Rene considered and hedged. Then he agreed to order the troops to cease hostilities until the Air India flight had taken off. But this should happen as soon as possible. And, he insisted, nobody else should be taken. Saxena agreed.

The barrage went quiet. Duffy got hold of two Seychellois airport operatives to set up the complicated refuelling process. He drove them out to the fuel tanks for the first step in the operation, using an airport runabout vehicle but with the lights switched off just in case, leaning out and shining the way with a torch. But all remained quiet. The fuel line was connected up to the Boeings tanks and the fuel started pumping. Duffy got into conversation with the two technicians, who were friendly and totally co-operative. He got the impression they rather approved of any attempt to oust Rene. The tanks were now full. One of the technicians thrust a requisition book at him.

Can you sign for the fuel, please?

Oh, certainly. Duffy signed with a flourish: Lieutenant-General Mickey Mouse.

Elsewhere, Captain Saxena and his officers had been busy. They took a drive down the runway to make sure it was clear. They dragged out of the way the truck that had torn off the stabiliser trim. The Tanzanians were observing the truce. The aircraft was now ready to fly. The stabiliser trim was not essential to take-off and flight.

Back in the terminal, Saxena spoke to Hoare. I dont want to know how many men are in your group. Thats your business. But I can carry an extra 50 passengers.

This was a way out. Hoare and Duffy considered. But the flight was to Bombay. South Africa at that stage had no diplomatic relations with India because of apartheid. Many of the Frothblowers were former Rhodesian special forces and current South African special forces personnel. They had South African travel documents. They would not be welcome in Bombay. South Africa was another option, in spite of the lack of diplomatic relations. Saxena agreed to fly them there.

This is, of course, Duffys account of what happened. In the subsequent air piracy trial the Natal Supreme Court was to take a different view: that the aircraft had been diverted to Durban under duress. Duffy is adamant that no weapon was ever pointed at anyone; no threat was ever made. Saxena made the offer out of humanitarian recognition of the Frothblowers predicament. In Duffys support, one of Saxenas officers did tell a radio station that the incident had been not so much a hijacking as a commandeering (though a court of law would probably see no distinction). Saxena and Duffy are firm friends to this day. Duffy flew to India (at great personal risk) to support and promote Saxena when he wrote his own account of the incident. Every Christmas he gets a telephone call from Saxena. Every Diwali Saxena gets a telephone call from him. Could it be that (perfectly understandable) international strictures against air piracy in this case overrode some human sympathy and decency?

Whatever the case, about 1 am next morning the Air India flight took off, the body of Johan Fritz in the cargo hold, the Frothblowers weapons tied up on the floor in a blanket. The Tanzanians held their fire, yet at one stage Duffy thought he heard the sound of bullets slapping the fuselage. But it was only the Frothblowers exultantly giving the parabat clap; many passengers joined in, relieved to be out of it. Drinks were served; the stewardesses refused payment. During the flight, a blonde girl from Zimbabwe and one of the mercenaries struck up such a rapport that they ended up joining the mile-high club. If this was a hijacking, it was a most strange one.

Excerpted from Ricochets: From Gordonstoun to Africas Wars by Graham Linscott. With permission from the author

Excerpt from:

When an Air India Plane was Hijacked by Mercenaries in Seychelles - The Wire

2017-08-07 07:21

Tania Broughton, News24 Correspondent

Durban - The day a book about his life was sent to the printers, legendary Durban photographer Peter Duffy died.

Once a mercenary - who spent time in jail for his role in the failed 1981 Seychelles coup - his death while sitting on a bench outside a Durban shopping centre last week, could be considered somewhat of an anti-climax.

Before Duffy's death of a presumed heart attack, he had become a recluse - estranged from many, including his friend of more than 30 years, author and journalist Graham Linscott.

Linscott wrote the book Ricochets, the Life of mercenary soldier Peter Duffy after a series of interviews which took place in Linscott's home where Duffy was recuperating after a hip operation.

Duffy claimed he couldn't handle the stairs at his own home. True to Duffy's secretive style, no-one knew exactly where the house was, let alone had been there.

After signing a contract and co-operating with Linscott, he walked out of his house one day and said he wanted nothing more to do with the project.

"We didn't speak for three years. People said I should apologise to him. But there was nothing to apologise for. I didn't know what I had done wrong, if anything," Linscott said.

"But he was aware that the book was going to published and somehow got an advanced copy of it. I am told he showed it to several people who all told him he should be delighted with it. But now I will never know."

'Romp'

Linscott describes the book as a "romp" and not a serious book.

Because while it deals with some serious topics, it is told very much in Duffy's humorous and mischievous style.

"Linscott is the only man who understands my sense of humour," he used to say.

In the foreword, Linscott describes Duffy, who was born in Scotland into relative wealth, as an eccentric adventurer.

His was a coffee planter in Tanganyika, took up karate in Japan, acted as a film stunt man, and served as mercenary in the Congo, invading the Seychelles Islands and hijacking a plane to escape.

When he wanted a "quieter life" he took up news photography, working mainly for the Daily News and Sunday Tribune in Durban.

He loved eating out and cooking. In his later years he would be known to pitch up friend's houses armed with ingredients. Sometimes he would stay for weeks.

'Inner circle'

Up to his death, an "inner circle", including some of Durban's top restaurateurs remained loyal to him.

In a tribute posted on Facebook, former colleague Yogin Devan wrote: "I first met Peter Duffy when I joined the Sunday Tribune in 1980. Not too long thereafter he became involved in the hijacking saga.

"When he returned to the Tribune after serving his jail sentence, I worked with Duffy regularly. Some journalists frowned upon his antics as a mercenary and hijacker and gave him a wide berth.

"I preferred going on out-of-town assignments with Duffy - the boredom of long trips disappeared as he regaled me with stories about all his adventures.

"I also decided that Duffy could be handy when interviews became tricky - he had a black belt in karate.

"Duffy and I went on several exciting and dangerous missions into the then Transkei and Ciskei - and once got caught in the violence following a coup in Bisho.

"Duffy was most knowledgeable about gourmet cooking and alcoholic beverages. He bragged about cooking a good few last suppers when he was in Pretoria Central Prison. He recalled that one condemned prisoner's last meal request was scrambled eggs. Duffy was also a connoisseur of cocktails."

'What a read...'

Devan said in October 2016, he arranged a cordial meeting in Mumbai between Duffy and Captain Umesh Saxena, the pilot of the Air India plane that Duffy and his fellow mercenaries had hijacked.

"They shared their versions of the episode over beers and a meal. I once read through the manuscripts of his life story. What a read

"When I broke the news of Duffy's death to Capt Saxena this [Saturday] morning, he was shocked and saddened."

Ricochets will be officially launched on August 17 at Adams in Musgrave Centre, Durban.

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Durban mercenary involved in Seychelles coup dies before book about his life is published - News24

Alain St. Ange was the former minister of tourism for the Republic the Seychelles. Seychelles lives and breathes tourism. St. Ange is now heard of his own Saint Ange Consultancy firm.

Dragged into dark clouds flying over Air Seychelles financial partner Etihad Airways, the national carrier Air Seychelles confirmed the discontinuation of its Victoria- Dusseldorf flight and a reduction of flights on its Paris run. This follows the suspension of its Durban route. The former minister Alain St. Ange worked hard to bring a new destination like Duesseldorf on board. His famous Carnival de Victoria attracted Duesseldorf Carnival officials and brought Seychelles on the tourism map in the largest outbound travel region in Germany.

Tour operators just got used and pitched to expand their reach to the Indian Ocean, when Air Seychelles abruptlypulled Duesseldorf from their network.

Alain says: Any loss of flights to a tourism destination is concerning, and more so when it touches key tourism source markets. Seychelles needs more than ever before to work in total unity to ensure that other airlines do not follow suit.

The remarkable success of our fragile tourism industry in recent years mustnot be taken for granted. Though we as Seychelloisbelieve that wehave the most stunning beaches and array of islands on the planet, every other similar touristic destination shares the same belief. This means that we are fishing from the same pond, and solelyrelying on our countrys beauty to fill up hotel beds year after year is an unrealistic expectation.

Visibility is integraland it alone remains the key to success. Visibility keeps tourism destinations relevant and

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Dark clouds over Air Seychelles: Former tourism minister concerned - eTurboNews

An up-close encounter with nesting seabirds, endemic bird species, giant land tortoises, and depending on the season, a nesting sea turtle these are what conservation lovers are being invited to discover by visiting the small Seychelles island of Cousine.

Located some eight kilometers off the west coast of Praslin the Seychelles second most inhabited island Cousine is now offering day visits for small groups.

The new excursion experience on the secluded island, also home to a small boutique hotel, is open to both Seychellois and tourists.

Describing what the excursion has to offer, the Guest Relations Manager on Cousine Island Mrs. Michelle Pretorius said visitors would be welcomed by the conservation team upon arrival, who will brief them on the islands conservation program.

The visitors would then be taken on a guided tour of the islands plateau to encounter and learn about the various species that call Cousine their home, while all precautions are taken to minimize any disturbances to the wildlife.

To minimize any disturbance to the wildlife and guests on the island we can accommodate up to a maximum of six visitors per day, Mrs. Pretorius said.

The visit takes around 5 hours, including a three-course lunch and time for the visitors to relax and enjoy the scenery, including the clear azure waters surrounding the island.

As we are a conservation island with strict invasive species protocol we only allow our boat to beach the island. We therefore can collect visitors from Praslin or we can arrange a helicopter transfer both at an additional rate, said Mrs. Pretorius.

Cousine spans 25 hectares in size, 1.4 kilometers in length and 800 meters in width. Although small in size the island has a big heart for conservation.

Rich in natural habitat, it boasts an array of endemic vegetation, which creates the perfect habitat for land, sea and migratory bird species that call the island their home. Nesting sea birds that can be found on the island include the white-tailed tropic birds and fairy terns.

A thriving population of 40 Seychelles Magpie Robin, listed as endangered on the IUCN Red list of Threatened species due to its small population, can also be found on Cousine.

Visitors can also expect to meet one of the 80 giant Aldabra tortoises roaming around freely on the island. And if one is lucky to be on the island during the nesting season, the unique sight of a Hawksbill turtle laying its eggs on the beach will come as a special treat.

Aside of the newly introduced day visits, Cousine also has the capacity to welcome an intimate compliment of up to 12 adults & 6 children at its small boutique hotel, which underwent major renovations in 2011, reopening in April 2016.

The hotel boasts 4 luxury villas and a new stately Presidential villa that have been built to blend in well with the islands lush tropical vegetation.

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Seychelles' Cousine island offers new excursion for nature lovers - eTurboNews

Boasting powder-white beaches and clear tranquil turquoise waters, the Seychelles archipelago is synonymous to romance, beach weddings, and honeymoons.

Famed for its reputation as an ultimate escape destination for newlyweds, Seychelles has played host to a stream of honeymoons and romantic getaways for the rich and famous, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who spent their honeymoon in Seychelles in 2011.

With those attributes, its not surprising that the Seychelles is once again nominated as a finalist for an international travel award.

Seychelles features among finalists in the Selling Travel Agents Choice Awards 2017 in the Destination for Weddings & Honeymoons category.

The island destination is competing against Barbados, Cyprus, Mexico, and Indian Ocean neighbor Mauritius.

The Seychelles national airline is also a finalist. Air Seychelles is competing against Air Mauritius, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Jet Airways, and Qatar Airways in the best Airline to India and the Indian Ocean category.

Selling Travel is a UK travel trade training magazine, providing UK travel professionals with the tools and information to sell products, services, and worldwide destinations.

The Selling Travel Agents Choice Awards are the only industry accolades nominated and voted for by travel agents alone.

With 48 categories this year, agents are being called to vote for their best airlines, hotels, destinations, tour operators, ferries rails among others. FAM trips and events or roadshows feature as new categories in 2017, in a bid to recognize the importance of experiential education in the travel trade.

The Chief Executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Mrs. Sherin Francis said, Efforts invested in working with travel agents and them having a say to determine who wins in each category will weigh in and assess the good relationship between them and travel industry representatives and suppliers from across the globe.

For Seychelles to be nominated as a finalist in the Destination for Weddings & Honeymoons category, once again adds more weight to what is already known; that Seychelles is indeed one of the worlds best spot for weddings and leading honeymoon destination, she added.

Voting which can be done online has already started and will close on October 15, 2017. Agents taking part in the voting process also stand the chance of winning a trip to Manila, Philippines.

According to the Selling Travel website, two events will be organized in London and Manchester to celebrate the Selling Travel Agents Choice Awards and encourage debate as the agents get the chance to meet many of the finalists for the 2017 edition of the award.

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Seychelles as wedding and honeymoon destination & Air Seychelles make final cut - eTurboNews