(eTN) – It is reported from Mauritius that they will soon be announcing a second Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Carnival to be in Mauritius. Although invited to participate in the carnival with Seychelles and La Reunion this year that was held in Seychelles, Mauritius chose not to respond to the invitation.
Mauritius, Seychelles, La Reunion, Madagascar, Mayotte, and Comores are all grouped under the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands. They launched the concept, but it remained but a fledging solidarity between neighboring islands but with no real commitment to really working together. La Reunion and Seychelles showed the way of working together when they co-hosted the 2012 Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Carnival, and it is believed that some of the islands only participated at the La Reunion & Madagascar Tourism Fair. So far they have never been all together at any event organized by each other.
Mauritius has been recording a tough time with their tourism industry with visitor arrival numbers dropping and with their private sector representatives speaking openly of the disarray of the MTPA and the island’s tourism department.
It is believed that a second Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Carnival is overkill for the region. New initiatives remain possible, and more options for new events that would unite the Indian Ocean Islands do exist. Commentators in Mauritius now question this latest decision by the MTPA & the Mauritius Tourism department and fear of more wasted efforts and of more waste of taxpayers’ money.
ETN spoke with Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, who simply said that he believed that this was but gossip and that Mauritius would not be adventuring in competing on a new carnival when more can and should be done together as the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands. The Seychelles Minister refused to speak on whether this proposal would help disintegrate the great concept of the Vanilla Islands. ETN did not receive a statement from La Reunion, as we were told their representative is currently traveling to Europe.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- La Reunion and Seychelles showed the way of working together when they co-hosted the 2012 Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Carnival, and it is believed that some of the islands only participated at the La Reunion &.
- Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, who simply said that he believed that this was but gossip and that Mauritius would not be adventuring in competing on a new carnival when more can and should be done together as the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands.
- Although invited to participate in the carnival with Seychelles and La Reunion this year that was held in Seychelles, Mauritius chose not to respond to the invitation.
