VICTORIA, Seychelles — The government has officially lifted the moratorium on new tourism accommodation development on La Digue, with a strict cap of 156 new rooms to be developed over the next five years (2025-2030). Only guesthouses and boutique hotels will be permitted under the revised policy, with a maximum of 15 rooms allowed per developer.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism Sylvestre Radegonde, principal secretary for tourism Sherin Francis, and director general for destination planning and development Paul Lebon met with the press at the Botanical House on Friday to provide details of the new policy. They said the move is intended to allow carefully controlled growth in accommodation capacity on La Digue, while protecting the island’s environment, character, and the quality of the visitor experience.
According to the officials, the cap of 156 rooms has been set on the basis of detailed studies of the island’s carrying capacity, infrastructure, and the capacity of local services to absorb new visitors. The maximum of 15 rooms per developer is intended to prevent the over-concentration of new capacity in the hands of a few operators, and to spread the economic benefits across a wider base of small and medium-sized Seychellois entrepreneurs. Applications for new developments are expected to open later this year.
