Tourism is the mainstay of the Seychelles economy and contributes to 21% of the GDP (direct contribution), employing more than 15% of the labour force.

Tourism offers investors a dynamic and diverse range of opportunities that includes hotels, DMCs, restaurants, diving centers, boat charters, tour operators, tourist guides, taxi operators, car hires, yachts and live-aboards, duty free shops, etc. This list is not exhaustive and investors are encouraged to propose alternative developments.

Investments in the tourism sector benefit from several concessions which are provided under the Tourism Incentives Act

Policy Guidelines

Seychelles has taken the decision to position itself among the best, environment-friendly destinations in the world. Tourism development in the country is thus guided by policies that encourage the preservation and conservation of our natural environment.

• Environment
  The orientation of Government, currently, is to encourage all new developments to incorporate environmental activities into the concept of the products. Such activities have the impact of sensitization and also protection and conservation of the environment. These activities should further strengthen the drive to achieve the aim of being the best environment-friendly destination.
• Hotels
  Investment opportunities exist in the development of hotels on the main islands and outer islands. Hotels having less than 10 rooms are reserved for domestic investors while other developments are open to both foreign and domestic investors.
• Hired vehicle
  A car hire company must have a minimum of 5 cars and is allowed a maximum number of 30 cars in its fleet. The cars in any fleet should not be older than 5 years. This investment area is reserved for Seychellois investors only.
• Watersports
  Motorised watersports activities can be carried out on identified sites around Mahè, Praslin and La Digue. Motorized and Non-motorized water sports are reserved for Seychellois investors only.
• Restaurants
  The restaurant sector includes the restaurant facilities of hotels and guesthouses as well as stand-alone establishments. Foreigners are permitted to invest in restaurants that offer specialty cuisine such as Chinese, Thai, Indian, Mediterranean etc.
• Dive Centres
  Investors are encouraged to invest in both land and sea based dive operations. Land based dive centres are reserved for Seychellois investors only. However, yachts & liveaboards and power dive operations are exempted from this rule.
• Yachts, Liveaboards and Boat Charters
  Businesses in this sector with less than 2 boats are reserved for Seychellois only. The yachting industry has the potential to grow with the development of marinas around Mahé. The policy for yachts and liveaboards is currently being revised.
• Travel agent & Tour Operators
  This sector is reserved for Seychellois investors only
• Tour Guides
  This sector is reserved for Seychellois investors only.
• Spas and Wellness
  As part of diversifying the tourism products, government is keen to encourage Spa and Wellness centres, either within the hotel establishments, or as stand alone units.
• MICE
  Opportunities exist to provide facilities for groups under MICE. This would include development of conference facilities, auditoriums etc.

For further information please download the relevant policy guidelines in the Downloads section.

Tourism Strategy 2017 Overview

The tourism strategy of the Government of Seychelles is to attain self-sustaining economic growth by securing targeted increases in the number of tourist visits to the country, and the amount spent by each tourist.

This will be achieved by improving the overall quality of the Seychelles tourism product and refining the positioning of the destination on the international tourist market. In order to achieve these advances, the degree of direct and indirect local participation in all elements of the sector will be increased.

Click here to download the Tourism Strategy 2017 document and here to download the Ecotourism Strategy Sets 21 document.