IT IS becoming more common for
corporates to combine conferences
with incentive trips – a trend that has
increased the popularity of destinations
such as Mauritius, which not only offers
SA corporates a paradise getaway on
their doorstep but is also well equipped
to meet conference requirements.
While the Seychelles has traditionally
been perceived primarily as a leisure
destination, the recent launch of
the Eden Bleu Hotel, along with the
development of Eden Island as a
whole, will likely go a long way to
altering this perception. Craig Heeger,
executive chairman of Eden Island
Development Company, says the
island has received a great deal of
attention from South African companies
demonstrating interest in holding their
conferences in the Seychelles.
Eden Island is the result of a huge
amount of time and investment,
according to Craig. Thirteen years ago
the residential and commercial marina
was nothing more than a white patch
of coral. Craig was approached in 2003
by Seychelles Tourism to invest in the
island, the result of which is a bustling
development 100 metres off the coast
of Mahé.
Aside from the picturesque marina
and Eden Bleu Hotel, Eden Island is
also home to Eden Plaza, the only
purpose-built retail centre in the
Seychelles, which houses shops,
boutiques, restaurants and bars,
banking and medical facilities, a spa,
and diving and boating charters.
The hotel, which is situated close
to the international airport and the
capital Victoria, features the most
high-tech conference facilities on the
archipelago. Its conference centre can
accommodate 340 guests theatrestyle
and 240 guests banquet-style
while leaving space for a dance floor.
The venue is also sub-divisible and
soundproofed so that two different
events can take place simultaneously.
“With our conference and meeting
facilities and exceptional digital
technology, the Eden Bleu Hotel is
seamlessly able to combine business
and pleasure,” comments Peter
Smith, marketing director, Eden Island
Development Company.
Eden Bleu itself offers 74 deluxe
rooms, 12 luxury suites and a
presidential suite. However, a rental
pool of apartments, maisons and villas
provides conference organisers with
greater capacity to work with as well
as a wider variety of accommodation
options. The hotel’s banqueting
team can produce menus to suit the
event or conference in question and
provides alternative dining options
in the Marlin Bleu Restaurant, which
is complemented by the adjacent
Bourgeois Bar with views of the marina.
Eden Plaza’s variety of dining options
offers delegates the opportunity to
kick back and relax island-style on the
marina’s boardwalk. The plaza provides
a highly atmospheric setting with its
live music and proximity to the open
water.
The concept behind the commercial
development as a whole was to create
a hub from which visitors can explore
the island and all that it has to offer,
unlike other conference and incentive
destinations that are designed to keep
people in one place.
The destination serves as an ideal
base for island hopping, further
promoting its selling point, which is
based on putting together unique
conference and incentive packages.
The overall aim is to market the
Seychelles as a destination that
has something for everyone, offering
excursions ranging from historical trips
to Victoria to cultural, culinary and
beach experiences.
Mauritius has long been the hotspot
for South African corporates looking
to combine conferences with incentive
experiences. However the Eden Island
Development Company believes that
the Seychelles will be able to compete
effectively with other island getaways
such as Mauritius as the Eden Bleu
Hotel is quite aggressively priced
according to the market in which it
operates. In fact, the team believe they
have managed to develop a five-star
product that offers four-star pricing.
What’s more, Seychelles is easily
accessible from Johannesburg, with
flights taking less than five hours.
State-of-the-art technology
The Eden Bleu Hotel is well equipped
to handle large conferences with
the most demanding technological
requirements. Its conference centre
is equipped with three high-definition
LED screens to which presentations,
HD videos and a variety of other
content, from a Twitter feed to a live
video conference, can be broadcast
wirelessly.
The biggest of these LED screens is
close to six metres wide – the largest
of its kind in Africa. What’s more, the
projectors are not sensitive to light,
enabling delegates to enjoy the venue’s
natural light. Power points are located
throughout the conference centre’s floor
space, making it easy for delegates to
charge laptops and mobile phones.
A business centre is available with
work stations and four meeting rooms,
and forms part of a large public area
well suited to displays and cocktail
events. The hotel also has a small
boardroom that seats eight, two slightly
bigger venues that can accommodate
14 people each and a large boardroom
that accommodates 18. Technology
across the boardrooms is also stateof-the-art
and features a touch-panel
smart board able to be wirelessly
interfaced with a laptop or other
electronic devices. This means that
notes can be taken from the smart
board and e-mailed directly from the
screen.
Each of the hotel’s meeting rooms is
designed with large, sliding doors that
open on to the terrace at the front of
the hotel, offering delegates views of
the marina.
“This is not just technology for
technology’s sake,” maintains Peter.
“Every innovation is designed to
give our guests the best possible
experience by allowing them to access
the information, services or facilities
they need in the most efficient way
possible.”
One such innovation is an interface
that guests can download on to their
mobile device before their booking
is even made, enabling them to
access in-room facilities, menus, hotel
services, island activities and more.
Every business travel requirement
has been taken into consideration and
addressed. For example, guests who
do not have roaming on their mobile
phones can make use of the hotel’s
customised iPhone 5s kitted out with a
local number and airtime.
Cultural excursions
The range of activities that conference
and incentive planners can organise
on a trip to the Seychelles is perhaps
more diverse than one might imagine.
For a more historical and cultural
experience, delegates can participate
in a tour of Mahé. Giant tortoises and
Coco de Mer fruit are some of the
unique discoveries visitors will make
when calling on the island’s botanical
gardens. Following on from this,
guests will explore Victoria, which also
happens to be the smallest capital in
the world, where they can experience
local markets, learn more about the
history of the Seychelles and develop
a greater understanding of the island’s
unique and vibrant culture.
The tour includes a visit to Mahé’s
Mission lodge ruins, which tell a sad
tale of the island’s history, which was
intertwined with slavery. At the same
time they will visit the appropriately
named La Misère viewpoint which
provides unrivalled views of the island
with some truly breathtaking scenery.
In between visits, a stop-off at
Takamaka Bay for lunch on the beach
is a great way to further appreciate
the island’s beauty. The tour ends with
the exploration of the restored colonial
plantation, Jardin du Roi, which is rich
in Creole history.
The Eden Bleu Hotel’s location on
the marina makes it highly convenient
for guests to board a catamaran
for a trip out to the middle of the
harbour. From here they can take part
in several different activities such as
boarding a semi-submersible vessel to
take a closer look at the underwater
marine life, stopping to feed the fish
and snorkelling through crystal-clear
coral reefs. A visit to Moyenne Island
enables travellers to spend some time
exploring and relaxing, whether they
prefer to go for a swim or spend some
time sunbathing on the beach.
More than just resorts
MOST island holidays involve
booking into an all-inclusive
resort where the guests’
needs are all catered for. Réunion
has more to offer the intrepid
traveller.
“I advise my clients not to stay
in the same hotel for seven nights,
as the various parts of the island
are all completely different,” says
Manisha Lala of Nelumbo Travel
in Johannesburg. Manisha advises
booking clients in at a B&B in Cilaos,
a town up in the mountains, which
is like a European village, and a few
nights at one of the resorts on the
west coast, where they can watch
whales.
“Most Réunion hotels don’t offer
all-inclusive packages – it’s usually
breakfast only or half-board – as
people are out most of the day. We
help book our clients’ activities, such
as paragliding, dolphin cruises and
mountain biking as well as guided
excursions to Saint Denis through
the local company, Horizon Réunion.”
Travel Counsellor, Tamarin Seymour,
says Réunion’s biggest attraction
is its diversity. “The natural beauty
is incredible and very different on
opposite sides of the island. Visitors
wanting a Mauritius-type beach
holiday can be booked into resorts
around Saint Gilles. The south coast
is very wild – not for swimming – and
the east coast has black beaches,
which some tourists find intriguing.
Accessibility
Réunion is only a four-hour flight
from Johannesburg on Air Austral.
South Africans can also fly on Air
Mauritius, with an additional 45
minutes connecting time.
Air Austral operates two flights a
week with a B737-800 non-stop from
Johannesburg, leaving at 11h30 and
arriving in Saint Denis at 17h20 on
Thursdays and Sundays.
Air Mauritius flies from
Johannesburg to Mauritius 12 times
a week, arriving at 14h45, 15h55,
16h00, 16h30 or 19h35, with
connections to Réunion three times
a day at 10h30, 15h30 and 21h45.
“We have seen an increase in
South Africans combining Mauritius
and Réunion,” says Wouter Nel,
sales and marketing manager
Southern Africa for Air Mauritius.
“Many South Africans use Air
Mauritius to get to Réunion as
we have daily flights from JNB via
Mauritius.”
“Now that South Africans don’t
need a visa for Réunion, there is a
definite growth in traveller interest,”
says Hélène Bezuidenhoudt,
manager of Atout France. “We’ve
also found that more tour operators
have been getting involved.
Workshops and educationals with
agents have helped to raise the
profile of the island as a place to go
for a different kind of island holiday.”
Self-drive
Visitors who want to explore the
island can get around easily by
renting a car. “I’d advise booking a
car through a South African operator
like Thompsons or Europcar before
guests leave, as they arrive in
Réunion quite late and having it
organised reduces stress,” says
Tamarin. An international or French
driver’s licence is required.
Staying active
The range of sports that can be
enjoyed in Réunion is wider than just
the water sports usually associated
with island holidays. To name a few
– guests can go snorkelling, golfing,
mountain climbing, paragliding and
spelunking.
“There are amazing things to
do, including helicopter flips and
a volcano hike, where you go
underground into lava tunnels. A
highlight for me was an ‘aqua hike’,
where you dress in a wetsuit and
then jump into a pool off a six-metrehigh
cliff before using your body to
raft down the river,” says Tamarin.
“Agents can pre-book these
activities via Thompsons Holidays or
LUX*, although my issue with prebooking
is that the weather might be
bad on the day. Guests who prefer to
book their activities on the day can
do so via the hotels.”
Some operators in Réunion are
Dodo Excursions (4x4 trips), Ile
Réunion (hiking, paragliding, diving
and more) and Vanille Excursions
(day trips to Cilaos and Salazie).
Book it!
LUX* Resorts & Hotels is offering a 10% discount for Réunion bookings made until
March 16 for travel until December 19. The discount applies to stays at both the fivestar
LUX* Ile de La Réunion and three-star Hotel Le Recife, both situated near Saint
Gilles in the west of the island.
Air Austral is offering Johannesburg-Réunion return fares from R4 457 (including
taxes). The offer is valid until February 28 for travel between March 29 and May 3.
