TERMS OF REFERENCE
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALDABRA TOURISM POLICY &
ALDABRA TOURISM MANAGEMENT PLAN
Position: Aldabra Tourism Consultant
Location: Remote & site visit
Reporting to: CEO & liaising closely with Head of Projects, Head of Tourism and Commerce
Contract type: Fixed term
Working hours: Part-time (while working remotely) & full-time (during site visit approx. 7-14 days)
Contract length: 6 months
Start date: 1 November 2026
1. Profile
The Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) is looking for conservation-led tourism planning expertise in a highly sensitive, remote World Heritage Site. This candidate should have experience in marine protected areas (MPAs), World Heritage Sites, island ecotourism, tourism policy development, conservation management planning, and tourism-related biosecurity aspects.
2. Background
SIF is a non-profit charitable organization that was established as a public trust by the government of Seychelles in 1979 and manages and protects the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Aldabra Atoll and Vallée de Mai as well as Fond Ferdinand Reserve. Aldabra Atoll is also a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), a Ramsar Wetland Site, and a large-scale Marine Protected Area (MPA), and a very important site for biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean. SIF is mandated and dedicated to ensuring that the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Seychelles are well-managed protected areas where conservation, research, education and tourism are sustainably balanced.
Under the Hifadhi Blue programme, SIF secured external project funding to overcome implementation barriers of the already developed Aldabra Management Plan. Tourism represents an important mechanism for supporting conservation, generating revenue, enhancing visitor awareness and creating socio-economic opportunities. However, tourism activities must be carefully managed to ensure that increasing visitor numbers do not compromise the ecological integrity, conservation objectives or Outstanding Universal Values (OUV) of the site, which underpin its World Heritage Site status.
Despite Aldabra’s isolated location (> 1100 km from Seychelles’ main island) the atoll receives a small number of annual visitors (approx. 1500). Being a strict conservation area, only day visits are permitted and tourists stay overnight on live-aboard vessels (small expedition cruise ships generally below 200 pax). In recent years, tourism activity has gradually increased following the post-COVID recovery of the global tourism sector. In parallel, threats from invasive non-native species are growing globally. Besides other pathways, these threats are linked to both tourists and visiting vessels themselves, representing a significant biosecurity concern. The closest island to Aldabra is Assomption (27 km away) and an important logistical transit point to visit and supply Aldabra and a critical biosecurity point for the atoll. A large-scale luxury development is currently being built on Assomption, resulting in huge quantities of construction materials, cargo, and supplies. The Assomption Island hotel development (opening planned in 2027/2028) is marketed worldwide as a gateway to Aldabra and a significant rise in tourism numbers is expected.
These new challenges have increased pressure on management systems designed for lower levels of activity, increasing the risk of invasive species incursions and tourism-related impacts. Although tourism at Aldabra is managed under the existing Management Plan for the MPA, there is currently no clearly defined tourism framework for visitor access or for managing tourism activities at the scale currently experienced, and considering increasing tourism numbers.
3. Objectives and outcomes
Tourism management requires strengthening to ensure that SIF can continue to meet its conservation objectives. A detailed tourism analysis of the current operation is required to build an informed baseline for an Aldabra Tourism Policy, followed by the development of a Tourism Management Plan to put the policy in action. Through the development and implementation of these tools, SIF will be equipped to monitor and regulate the impacts of tourism activities, and adapt procedures to better implement the strict control and enforcement of regulations for the protection of Aldabra’s OUVs to maintain consistent oversight, manage visitor impacts, and ensure that tourism activities remain compatible and in compliance with conservation priorities while balancing financial sustainability.
Expected outcomes include, but are not limited to 1) improved sustainable tourism management and visitor guidance at Aldabra Atoll, 2) increased institutional capacity through operationalisation of the tourism management policy, 3) enhanced ecosystem protection and resilience against emerging and long‑term threats from visitor-driven impacts.
4. Scope of work
4.1 Inception review & tourism analysis
Review all relevant policies, legislation, conservation strategies, visitor statistics, previous studies, operational procedures, including national and international sustainable tourism and protected-area management frameworks and international best practices relevant to the site. An inception report shall be prepared outlining the proposed methodology, work programme, stakeholder engagement approach and further information requirements.
- Desktop review of existing practices and create a best-practice-aligned policy defining visitor limits, operational guidelines, monitoring procedures, and compliance requirements, zonation, routes and projected visitor increases from the Assomption tourism development
- Benchmarking against comparable protected areas, small remote islands, and heritage sites
- Provide recommendations during the review of existing visitor information materials (inclusive of: onboard biosecurity preparation, Aldabra tourism regulations, diving, snorkelling, tourism zones, promotion, etc)
- Provide support and materials to strengthen interpretation, environmental education and visitor awareness
- Conduct a site visit at Aldabra Atoll and consult relevant stakeholders to assess the current tourism situation, including visitor numbers and profiles, tourism products/packages, revenue generation, operational arrangements and visitor experience
- Rather than establishing a numerical carrying-capacity threshold, the assessment should consider acceptable levels of visitor use and acceptable levels of change, taking into account ecological sensitivity, infrastructure capacity, visitor experience, safety and management capacity
- Establish a clear visitor management framework and strategic direction for sustainable tourism development of the site
- Review SIF analyses of visitor pricing and scenario analyses, and provide recommendations on pricing that is benchmarked and competitive
- Establish measurable indicators for monitoring tourism impacts, visitor satisfaction and management effectiveness
4.2 Aldabra Tourism Policy
Based on the findings, the Consultant shall develop an Aldabra Tourism Policy structured around appropriate strategic pillars, which may include but not be limited to:
- Conservation and Environmental Protection: Ensuring that tourism contributes to, and does not undermine conservation objectives
- Visitor Management: Managing visitor behaviour, movement and activities within acceptable limits
- Visitor Experience and Interpretation: Providing meaningful, higher value, lower impact experiences thereby increasing the appreciation of the site's values
- Financial Sustainability: Ensuring that tourism revenue appropriately contributes towards conservation and effective site management
- Governance, Monitoring and Adaptive Management: Establishing applicable indicators and mechanisms for reviewing and adapting Aldabra’s tourism management
4.3 Aldabra Tourism Management Plan
The Consultant shall prepare a detailed Aldabra Tourism Management Plan with clear implementation guidelines, including clear action points supporting sustainable tourism, including priority, timeframe, responsible party, estimated cost. The KPIs/target actions should be categorised as short-term, medium-term and long-term and prioritised according to conservation importance, urgency, feasibility, cost and expected benefits.
5. Deliverables and timeframe
Inception Report (Dec 2026)
- Incl. methodology, work programme, stakeholder engagement plan and information requirements
- Aldabra Site visit (approx. 7-14 days, full-time basis during site visit)
- Findings from tourism analysis
- Stakeholder consultation report, key findings and stakeholder input
Draft Aldabra Tourism Policy (Feb 2027)
- Incorporating the strategic framework, visitor management measures, tourism development recommendations, monitoring framework and implementation plan.
- Validation workshop/presentation of the draft policy to SIF
Final Aldabra Tourism Policy (March 2027)
- Incorporating comments received during the review and validation process
Draft Aldabra Tourism Management Plan (March 2027)
- Implementation action plan incl. concise management-level summary highlighting priority actions, responsibilities, timelines, costs and KPIs
Final Aldabra Tourism Management Plan (April 2027)
- Incorporating comments received from SIF and key stakeholders during the review and validation process
6. Required qualifications and experience
- A relevant postgraduate qualification in tourism planning, sustainable tourism, environmental management, conservation, protected-area management or a related discipline
- A minimum of ten years of relevant professional experience in sustainable tourism planning, visitor management, protected-area tourism or a closely related field
- Proven experience in developing sustainable tourism approaches appropriate to an exceptionally sensitive, remote and conservation-led World Heritage Site, where the conservation objectives, ecological thresholds, visitor experience and operational capacity of the site must determine tourism levels, activities and infrastructure
- Tourism planning in island and marine environments, including an understanding of ecosystem services and nature-based tourism, particularly wildlife, marine and ecotourism
- Proven expertise in conducting ecological, social, operational and infrastructure assessments, within the scope of visitor management in high-value biodiversity sites in island nations
- Proven expertise in relevant strategies, performance monitoring and tools required to action sustainability in the tourism industry, including planning and indicator development
- Evidence of similar assignments, analysis, and reports/publications
Additional skills:
- Excellent project management, coordination and organisational skills, including the ability to manage multiple workstreams and deliver high-quality outputs within agreed deadlines
- Excellent research, writing, editing and report-production skills, with the ability to translate technical findings into clear and practical recommendations
- Strong data management and analytical skills, including the ability to analyse visitor, tourism, environmental and socio-economic data and translate findings into management recommendations
- Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to work effectively with stakeholders with diverse interests, backgrounds and levels of technical expertise
- Experience liaising with international experts, researchers, donors, government agencies and conservation organisations
- Excellent presentation and communication skills, including the ability to present complex, technical and potentially sensitive information clearly to diverse audiences, including senior management and decision-makers
- Strong critical-thinking, problem-solving and synthesis skills, with the ability to assess competing priorities and develop realistic, conservation-compatible solutions
- Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams and in remote or logistically challenging environments
- Familiarity with Seychelles, Aldabra Atoll, the Western Indian Ocean, UNESCO World Heritage Sites and/or comparable remote protected islands would be an advantage
Facilities provided by SIF:
Subject to SIF's applicable policies, procedures and logistical arrangements, SIF will provide the following facilities and support to the consultant:
- Transportation to Seychelles and Aldabra, where required and as agreed with SIF
- Transit accommodation on Seychelles’ main island Mahé, where required
- Accommodation and full board on Aldabra for the duration of the approved field visit
- Logistical support on Aldabra, including transportation and other reasonable arrangements required to facilitate the assignment and fieldwork
Submission of expression of interest:
- Letter of interest specifying consulting suitability and confirming availability for the project timeline, incl. brief proposal specifying the methodology and implementation framework for each component stated in the scope of work
- CV including professional profiles, relevant certifications, and evidence of similar assignments or references
- A formal quotation inclusive of a breakdown of services
Submissions are accepted by email only and should be send to christina.quanz@sif.sc
Deadline for submission: 19th October 2026