Seychelles and Mauritius sign MoU for cooperation |12 November 2011

The MoU was signed by the Seychelles Tourism Board’s (STB) chief executive Alain St Ange and the chairman of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) Robert Desvaux.

The signing took place at the Seychelles stand at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London.

WTM – the leading global event for the travel industry – was this year held from November 7-10.

Both heads of tourism, through the MoU, are committed to pursuing the consolidation of the ‘Vanilla Islands’ concept with the full engagement of Seychelles and Mauritius as the poles of excellence to enhance the development of the concept.

One of the main points of the MoU speaks of the cultural events in the ‘Vanilla Islands’ region where it was proposed to consider that the ‘Carnaval International de Victoria’ – staged annually in Seychelles – becomes more of an event owned by the region as a whole.

Mr St Ange said he was thankful to Mr Desvaux for having been the instigator for this MoU.

“We are sister islands and the more we work together the stronger we shall be,” said Mr St Ange.

Mr Desvaux said it was important for the Vanilla Islands to be more united and committed to working together.

Witnessing the signing ceremony were Pascal Viroleau, the head of La Reunion Island Tourism; Joel Randriamandranto, president of the Office Nationale Du Tourisme de Madagascar; Bernadette Willemin, the European director for the STB; and Karl Mootoosamy, the chief executive of the MTPA.

Seychelles and Reunion signed a similar MoU at the Top Resa tourism trade fair in Paris in September this year.

Both Seychelles and Mauritius are popular and sought-after tourism destinations in their own rights and the decision for them to now cooperate in the further consolidation of their key industry is seen as a positive move for the region.