IDC Plans Assomption Island Airstrip Upgrade to Attract High End Tourism
VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Islands Development Company (IDC) has unveiled plans to upgrade the ageing airstrip on Assomption Island, in a move intended to establish the island as a key point of entry for high-end tourism. IDC’s chief executive, Glenny Savy, emphasised the importance of the endeavour at a press conference held on Thursday, framing the upgrade as part of a wider strategy to unlock the economic potential of one of the country’s most remote islands. The move is expected to open up new investment opportunities in the hospitality sector.
Mr Savy said the airstrip upgrade is the foundation for a longer-term plan that includes the development of a hotel on the island, alongside other tourism infrastructure. The IDC has been working on the Assomption concept for several years, and the latest announcement signals a renewed push to translate that planning into construction on the ground. High-end tourism, in the company’s view, is the segment best suited to the island’s geography and its environmental constraints, given the limits on visitor numbers that any small-island development would need to respect.
Assomption is one of the islands in the Aldabra group, situated within the broader Aldabra marine region that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The IDC has stressed that any development on Assomption will need to balance the island’s ecological value with its tourism potential, and the airstrip is being designed with that constraint in mind. The company’s leadership has been at pains to point out that the project is not a mass-tourism development but a controlled, high-value proposition.
The IDC’s strategy on Assomption is part of a wider push to maximise economic benefits from the company’s portfolio of outer islands, while at the same time facilitating new investment. The company has argued that improved air access is a precondition for any hotel development to be commercially viable. Without a reliable airstrip, the company said, the cost of supplying and staffing any future hotel would be prohibitive, and the visitor experience would be limited.
Mr Savy did not give a specific completion date for the airstrip upgrade, but indicated that the project would move into its next phase once the relevant environmental and planning approvals were in place. He also pointed to ongoing discussions with potential hotel partners, without naming any specific operator. The IDC expects the upgraded airstrip to support both the construction phase of the hotel and the steady flow of high-end visitors once the property is operational, and the company said it would provide further updates as the project progresses.
