In December, Seychelles North Island resort will join the Marriott International portfolio of properties through a franchise agreement, following which it will be operating as ‘North Island, a Luxury Collection Resort’.
North Island will join over 100 hotels and resorts across 35 countries in The Luxury Collection portfolio – but will be the first hotel in the Luxury Collection’s newly-launched ASMALLWORLD Hotel Collection, which makes its debut on Seychelles
Tourism Update spoke to Managing Director of North Island, Bruce Simpson, who says the resort – and the island on which it resides – is a perfect fit for the Marriott International brand. The resort is ultra luxurious, while also embracing sustainability and supporting eco-tourism, and is working on a strategy that embraces ‘travel with a purpose’, involving guests in the rehabilitation process of the island. This includes planting trees while visiting the island, taking part in educational walks around the island to better understand the eco-system, fauna and flora species and, later in the strategy, keeping guests up to date on their reduction of carbon emissions owing to the efforts they made on the island – from the planting of trees, to their journey by helicopter to the island.
CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), Sherin Francis, said: “North Island writing its name down on the exclusive social networking website such as ASMALLWORLD definitely raises the profile of the destination, and increases its visibility vis-à-vis a very high-end clientele. One of our goals remains to rebuild the destination’s image as an exclusive experience for our visitors. This affiliation is definitely applauded by the STB, as it is our belief that it will definitely contribute positively toward the destination.”
North Island is 27km north-west of Mahé and is an exclusive eco-tourism property accessible only by helicopter. It offers multiple activities for visitors, from scuba diving and snorkelling, to stand-up paddle boarding, surfing and body-boarding, along with a luxurious spa. Guests can also join the research team in monitoring turtle activity and hearing talks on the marine biology and biodiversity.
