Seychelles supports Vanilla Islands idea |18 December 2010

Vanilla Islands is a new marketing concept for the islands of the Indian Ocean – Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion and Comoros.

It is a strategy that puts forward the strong points of each of the destinations, which can then be marketed as a package to visitors.

It also helps to increase the visibility of the islands on the international market and improve their communication in their common tourist sources, which are France, the UK, Germany and Scandinavia.

Through this new marketing initiative, the Indian Ocean is marketed as a diverse destination, and visitors are encouraged to combine their visits such as Seychelles-Mauritius, Reunion-Mauritius and Madagascar-Mauritius.

With this idea in mind, Seychelles joined its neighbouring islands on the stand of the Vanilla Islands fair in Madagascar, represented by the deputy chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Elsia Grandcourt.

Madagascar was looking at the event to reposition itself vis-a-vis its tour operators, and Seychelles made the most of the platform to do some promotion work.

Mrs Grandcourt said Seychelles expects to receive positive results from this exposure, as it was portrayed as a strong destination with so much to offer.