Seychelles is often hailed as one of the most idyllic tourist destinations in the world, with beautiful sandy beaches and a huge variety of flora and fauna. But this beautiful destination faces significant challenges when it comes to protecting its fragile ecosystem.
Hilton has introduced a number of innovative measures in the Seychelles which will help the long-term sustainability of tourism on the islands. These include:
Coral reef preservation
*Implementing coral reef nurseries at Hilton Northolme Resort & Spa and DoubleTree by Hilton Allamanda to help the coral reef recover from major eco-disasters, including the 2004 tsunami, the global bleaching event in 2016 and ongoing challenges of climate change
*The hotels are heavily invested in supporting the marine ecosystem’s wellbeing and partner with the Marine Conservation Society and local Environment schools to continue finding innovative ways to tackle these important issues.
Hilton Coral Nursery.
Sustainable sourcing
*The Hilton Seychelles cluster, led by Hilton Northolme Resort & Spa, recently launched its own soap recycling initiative, becoming the first hotels to recycle soap on the islands with supplier Diversey. The hotels works with The President’s Village, an organisation that supports youth from difficult backgrounds, to train young people to recycle the soap, which is then supplied to local young people.
*The hotel also boasts organic vegetable farms on the grounds of Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa and at Hilton Northolme.
*The hotel has been partnering with IFAD on sustainable agricultural projects to ensure local produce that comes from inclusive and environmentally conscious practices. Through the organic gardens and the IFAD partnerships, the hotels are able to source over 80% of their vegetables locally, with an ambition to increase this in future.
*All food waste also goes through a grinding process which produces fertilizer used in the organic farm and the native plant nursery.
Hilton Water Recycling Plant.
Plastic reduction and water use
*As island properties, Hilton’s Seychelles hotels face a significant waste management challenge. Previously, Hilton Seychelles Labriz had to ship water in from the mainland, sending empty bottles to the mainland for recycling. To combat the issue, the hotel installed its own water bottling plant on Mount Douban, the largest peak on Silhouette Island. Water is filtered and placed in reusable glass bottles. Through the new water plant, the hotel team is hoping to help completely eradicate single-use plastic from the island. Proof of this commitment is the fact that DoubleTree by Hilton Allamanda has recycled 30,000 plastic bottles and cans so far this year.
*Attention to water use is also very important to the properties, who have since opening been able to save around 5,700,000 cubic meters of water, approximately enough to fill 4,144 Olympic swimming pools.
Commitment to the preservation of Seychelles Heritage
*Hilton restored the original plantation house which was built by the Dauban family in 1860 and opened it to the general public as a Museum dedicated to the discovery of Seychelles through a series of maps dating back to the 1800’s.