Africa-Press – Seychelles. The La Retraite primary school has officially launched its tourism club under the under the brand ‘Lospitalite – Lafyerte Sesel’.
The brand was launched recently by the Tourism department to promote service excellence.
The launch of La Retraite school’s tourism club follows its adoption by Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort and Casino in July 2022. It was the general manager of the Resort and Casino, Rizal Yaacob, who launched the club in a ceremony held recently in the presence of the principal secretary for Tourism, Sherin Francis; director general for destination planning and development, Paul Lebon; the head teacher of the school, Jina Ernesta; other representatives from the hotel and from the department of Tourism, including the 30 young club members and their four facilitators.
Mr Yaacob said that the hotel was given to choose from three schools for adoption and on their first random visit to La Retraite school they fell in love with the school after being touched by the warm welcome and the environment of the premises.
“Indeed, it is a proud moment for the Berjaya family to adopt the tourism club of La Retraite primary school. We believe in reimagining our future together for the younger generation,” said Mr Yaacob, who noted that they hopefully would make a difference to the children as they always stood to enhance the society where they also belong.
Before the adoption, the hotel had hosted 10 students accompanied by their facilitators for an internship programme within all departments where they learned some basic skills.
The tourism club in schools was launched by the Tourism department with the aim of creating tourism awareness while capturing their interest also for a career in hospitality and tourism.
On behalf of the school, Mrs Ernesta expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort and Casino for adopting the school’s tourism club which was eagerly awaited by the students.
“We are convinced that the expertise of the hotel staff will aspire our young students to bring hospitality to the next level in the years to come not only in the tourism industry but also in their community,” said head teacher Ernesta.
Mrs Ernesta noted that since the internship with the hotel, the students in the club have started to use new vocabularies and they are willing to assist the school with its breakfast programme.
She added that the La Retraite ‘lospitalite’ tourism club is committed to working in partnership with the hotel to cultivate a right attitude towards tourism among the students.
Sharing her experience on the internship programme, 10-year-old P5 pupil, Kyrah Tirant, said that she and her colleagues really benefited from an experience they had never dreamed of having.
She said they were happy and thankful to the staff who guided them on the different jobs they got to try.
She added that the working experience has opened their eyes to the different job opportunities available in the hotel industry which some among them could form part of when they grow up.
Mr Yaacob later said that they allow for further students to gain basic experience of tourism at the hotel and they also have programmes to further develop the skills of the students who came for the first internship.
Louisianne Theresine, the club’s main facilitator, said that apart from programmes with the hotel, the students will be targeting the community to promote ‘Lospitalite – Lafyerte Sesel’ and to share their experience and knowledge gained at the hotel.
Before the launch of the club, two pupils who portrayed themselves as guests, were welcomed, upon alighting from a boat, by pupils on the beach who portrayed themselves as staff of the hotel. They all marched in procession from the beach to the area under the tent where the launch activity started with reflection by two pupils.
After the speeches, the pupils who participated in the internship programme at the hotel shared their experience in a role play where they demonstrated what they learned which included the setting up of a dining table and napkin folding, and the making of mocktails without alcohol. There was also a poem and traditional dance by the students and a video presentation on the journey of the young participants at the hotel.
On behalf of the Tourism department, PS Francis presented the school with ‘Lospitalite – Lafyerte Sesel’ tokens which were collected by head teacher Ernesta.
The accompanying photographs show some highlights of the club’s launch.
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