Creole Travel Services… Passionately Seychelles
Creole is one of the leading destination management companies (DMC) of the idyllic Seychelles Islands. Rich in its history, the team are celebrating their “20 Years of Creole” this year, and look forward to growing bigger and better with every passing decade!
Creole is a family owned and operated business, falling under the extensive umbrella of the JFA Group of Companies. JFA would be the initials of the literal “founding father” of Creole and affiliated companies, Mr. Joseph France Albert, the Chairman and father to CEO, Mr. Guillaume Albert. Through his hard work, Mr. Albert has built his entire empire from scratch and with the help of Guillaume and his two other sons, Jean Christophe and Gregory, the Albert legacy continues to grow and prosper.
The DMC started off as Creole Holidays until it merged with Travel Services Seychelles, giving birth to Creole Travel Services – a nationally recognised and celebrated tourism brand.
Creole has offices in the three main islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue – key destinations to offer their clients a wide range of products and services that are unique to each. Mahé is the most populated and home to one of the tiniest capitals in the world, Victoria. Praslin is the second largest island in the archipelago and guards one of two UNESCO Heritage Sites available in the Seychelles: the mysterious Vallée de Mai, rumoured to be the original Garden of Eden. La Digue is famous for being the bicycle island, where the two wheeler is the main mode of transport for the inhabitants, meaning less pollution, less noise and a more authentic island roots experience for everyone.
Creole strives to be the complete package as a destination host, wanting to be able to cater to the needs of their clients from airport meet and greets, transfers, tours, accommodation and entertainment. They are able to accomplish this in synergy with our sister companies.
Their airport staff welcomes clients as soon as they step out of the arrival doors, and guide them into the Creole Exclusive Lounge at the airport, or straight on to their awaiting transfers to bring them to their respective hotels.
To bring clients to neighbouring Praslin and La Digue islands from mainland Mahé, the company’s sister Inter-Island Boats Ltd. provides the fastest ferries crossing the islands on a trio of high speed catamarans, the Cat Cocos fleet, with a seating capacity from 227 to 475 passengers respectively.
Creole’s Le Domaine Collection features 4-star properties on Praslin and La Digue islands. The first built by the family was the Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie on La Digue, featuring 63 stunning villas and the Eden Rock Spa, highlighting local architecture and the warmth of wood in a pure Zen style. Le Domaine de La Reserve on Praslin has its own exclusive beach, Anse Petite Cour, and faces the Curieuse Island Marine National Park. The hotel offers 40 rooms housed in traditional Creole style buildings, and boasts one of the largest swimming pools in the Seychelles.
To entertain their guests, Creole offers a wide variety of activities to not just show you the islands, but to encourage you to take part of and learn from the culture and traditions. Creole can whisk you away on both land and sea, often blending both within the same excursion, on their twin catamarans: the Oplezir and Odezir. Easily identified by the giant frangipani insignia on their matching sails, the team will guide you into discovering why the Seychelles is often called the last paradise on Earth.
Creole love their young guests too! Through their Looker 440GB, the Zephir, a semi-submersible vessel can immerse you and your children into the unique underwater world of the company’s marine parks. Young minds will be thrilled as they learn to identify different fish species and other sea creatures, dry and safe onboard the open air deck.
Nature is important not just to the Seychelles, but to Creole and the Albert family too, and Creole can show you just how beautiful the country is by bringing you to their exclusive property in the south of Mahé, the Cap Lazare Nature Reserve. An extensive 65 hectare protected area, they offer a unique restaurant in the shape of an oversized open air, A-frame, thatched roof hut. Other amenities include a helicopter pad, nature trails, view-points and a small area with farm animals, a hit with children. Furthermore, the beach attracts hawksbill turtles to lay their eggs during nesting season. A perfect location for corporate and private events, Cap Lazare has hosted everything from exclusive weddings and corporate parties.
As the modern traveler evolves into being more independent and seeking for more than the regular tourist attractions, Creole welcomes the changes and challenges, for they believe that they must evolve along with their clients’ needs, travel goals and advancing expectations.
As issues of climate change and the need for more conservation efforts grow, Creole is fully onboard to take on its responsibilities as a company to contribute in their roles towards the well-being of the Seychelles’ and the world’s environment. Creole have pledged to go green, to ensure that the beauty that they show and share with their clients today, will still be here tomorrow for our future generations and visitors to their country. They have signed up with Travelife, “a leading training, management and certification initiative for tourism companies committed to reaching sustainability”. They are “dedicated to making holidays more sustainable”, working with “travel businesses around the world to help them improve their social, economic and environmental impacts”. By working towards their Travelife certification, Creole will have to undergo changes in how they operate their business in a socially and environmentally sustainable manner. This is something they are very excited about, and are prepping themselves to ensure they can meet the criteria required.
Simultaneously, Creole are also in the process of refreshing their brand. Although they have a strong trademark, it is unwise for any company to rest on its laurels at any point of its existence. Their iconic frangipani is symbolic to Creole and what they represent, and they are keeping with their strengths, and improving on where they feel they can and should. Although they will always be professional in their functions and communications, they are moving away from being overly “rigidly corporate” in how they market themselves. They are a young and dynamic company, who aim to reignite in their partners, their clients, and the world – and themselves, of course – the passion and excitement for the Seychelles islands. The rebranding will officially be launched later on in the year.
The team have a running joke that with the upcoming “20 years of Creole” anniversary this year, the company will move on from its “teenager” years which they have used to build themselves as a company and a brand, and now as an “adult”, we will have to “reinvent” themselves to keep with the times and the evolution of modern travel. This way, they can refresh themselves as a company, their image and functions, yet still stay true to their slogan of being always “passionately Seychelles”.