An extra 32 rooms have been added to Seychelles' tourist accommodation reserves, with the return of the French owned luxury sailing ship Le Ponant.

Run by the Nice based Copmagnie Des Iles Du Ponant, the triple masted schooner is back in Seychelles at the start of a second six-month northern winter season.

Captain Eric Pialles explained that 88-metre, 1500-tonne sail boat will be plying the waters of Seychelles of the next five to six months, offering North American and European tourists the chance to escape the winter.

Le Ponant's first season in Seychelles began this time last year and the itinerary for the vessel's week long cruises remains largely unchanged, with visits to Mahé, Praslin, La Digue, St. Joseph, Desroches, Sillhouette and Curiuese.

Despite the current national downturn in visitor arrivals, Captain Pialles reported that bookings for the vessel, which targets the top end of the tourist market, average roughly 80 per cent for the coming half year.

Captain Pialles explained that the ship's owners had decided to operate in Seychelles due to the fact that only Le Meridien Pearl of Seychelles is currently offering a similar service here.

"It was a good opportunity, instead of sailing in the Caribbean where there are so many ships," said the Captain.

With a 90 per cent French crew and a limited amount of time spent ashore by guests, the impact of Le Ponant upon the local tourist economy is unlikely to be as great as would be expected from a similar sized land based investment.

However, the vessel's success while in Seychelles still represents roughly 50 extra well-heeled tourists adding at least some foreign currency to the economy.

Upon finishing the Seychelles season Le Ponant will return to the Mediterranean, via the Suez Canal, where the vessel will cruise in the area around Italy and South East France.

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