Zil Pasyon Proves That Real Estate Development Can Support Green Tourism

When Mukesh Valabhji and Kishore Buxani developed the project for Zil Pasyon, they aimed to promote environmental protection through tourism because they believed that eco-tourism is the single way forward when it comes to travel.

The two entrepreneurs have an appetite for travelling themselves and grasped the opportunity to start a real estate project that is dedicated to looking after the planet and giving back to the local community of Seychelles.

Zil Pasyon works actively to enrich the environment and focuses conservation efforts on its constitution to transform Felicite Island into an eco-tourism leader. Besides the Zil Pasyon resort, most of the island is uninhabited, and over 50% of the land is under natural conservation.

Felicite Island Was Named The Second Most Sustainable Destination in Africa

Green Destination, a non-profit foundation for sustainable tourism, recognised Felicite Island as the second most sustainable destination in Africa in the Best of the Planet category in 2019.

The event in Berlin had the purpose of recognising sustainable procedures and innovation in the tourism sector worldwide. Felicite Island is the fifth-largest island in Seychelles, but the Zil Pasyon resort is known worldwide for its premium services.

Because the island is part of the Marine Protected Area, Six Senses is managed in collaboration with the Seychelles National Park Authority. And this is not the only thing that makes it special,

Six Senses Zil Pasyon is also one of the few luxury retreats that have a sustainability manager that aims to make sustainable development an essential part of the main goals of the resort.

Anna Zora stated that the entire team of Six Senses is thrilled that an organisation like Green Destination recognised their commitment to conserve the natural environment and restore it to its original beauty. It’s impressive for a small resort in Africa to rank number two in the most Sustainable Top 100 Destinations. 

Zil Pasyon Engages In Several Sustainability Initiatives

According to Anna Zora, the sustainability manager of Six Senses, the resort launched numerous projects to promote conservation and sustainability. The main initiatives Zil Pasyon promotes are coral restoration, turtle monitoring, island reforestation, and zero waste. Since opening it, Kishore Buxani and Mukesh Valabhji, the founders of the resort, decided to make the rehabilitation of Felicite Island’s habitat their priority.

Through the Six Senses retreat, they support the protection of the coco de mer site (unique in the world) and the reintroduction of indigenous and endemic species. In 2018, the critically endangered Wright’s gardenia endemic bloomed for the first time ever on the island.

Besides Wright’s gardenia, other 12 vulnerable, four endangered, and three critically endangered are included in the reforestation project. The resort Mukesh Valabhji developed provides the tourists with the unique opportunity to spend their vacation on a tropical island and take part in the initiative to maintain tourism sustainability.

The fact that a small luxury resort in the middle of the Indian Ocean pioneers responsible tourism shows that everything is possible through dedication, effort, and commitment. Only because it’s easier and cheaper to ignore eco-friendly practices, it doesn’t mean tourism should head on this path. 

Zil Pasyon cares not only about the guests but also about the local communities, and works in close collaboration with them to preserve the environment. 

Six Senses Intends To Become Plastic-Free Until The End Of The Year

Since its opening, Six Senses Zil Pasyon, Mukesh Valabhji’s special project, has been working on several sustainability initiatives, staying environmentally responsible and promoting the idea of sustainability among its guests. Over the last couple of years, the resort enrolled in a new journey towards removing plastic from its processes by introducing stainless steel straws among its many other eco-friendly amenities.

When a guest rents a villa, they’ll find a stainless-steel straw with a cleaning brush in their room to use during their stay. The Six Senses brand has commissioned these customised straws, especially for the resort’s clients. They’re all engraved with the quote “Six Senses Plastic Free by 2022”.

The resort pays great attention to details and presents the straws in a hand-made pouch made from a local shweshwe fabric by the island natives, supporting, therefore, the community and creating jobs. The resort’s general manager Mark Leslie stated that they encourage the visitors to take home more than memories from the dream island. They hope to inspire them with new ideas on how to change their daily activities to transform the world into a more sustainable place. 

Zil Pasyon Transplanted The First Corals in 2018

Zil Pasyon needed less than a year to transplant the first coral fragments from a nursery to the reef area. Six Senses aims to encourage fish and other marine life to come back with the creation of the coral reef. Zil Pasyon partnered with Seychelles National Park Authority and Ramos Marine and Island Reserve, and local NGOs Nature Seychelles to start this program. 

They launched it in October 2017 with the creation of the coral nursery and continue it to the present day by transplanting corals regularly to the natural reef environment. Marine biologists selected the best coral fragments to grow and harvest to ensure they’ll survive another event like the mass bleaching from 2016. After transplanting the first coral fragments, the Island Reserve and Ramos Marine took over the nursery’s activities to ensure that the project continued. 

Zil Pasyon Transformed Seychelles Into a Top Destination Among Tourists Who Look For Destinations That Promote Sustainability

Six Senses proves that Seychelles is more than a beautiful array of islands where tourists can dive and relax on the beach. Through the project of Mukesh Valabhji and Kishore Buxani, the Felicite Island shows that tourism can tie together tourist activities with conservation. The guests who want to dive or snorkel in the blue crystal waters of the island can also take part in learning how to conserve the environment. 

Sustainable tourism is a form of tourism that considers the present and current environmental, social, and economic impacts and addresses the needs of the sector, visitors, local communities, and environment.