Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, three of South Africa’s key market places to promote holidays on Reunion Island, are targeted once again by Reunion Island Tourism (IRT) to attract yet more South Africans to visit the island.
With an effective visa waiver in place, it is now easy to fly from Jo’burg on Air Austral to Reunion Island, and the tourism office is pulling out all the stops on the back of a very successful GoToReunion blog campaign and the recent MascaRun South Africa.
A large delegation of tourism stakeholders have again joined hands with the IRT to promote their own businesses on the island.
Led by the IRT representative in South Africa, Helena Bezuidenhoudt, company representatives from the Exsel group Tropicar ITC, Le Boucan Canoe, Hotels Co CHALLENGE Association Meeting, The Nautilus, The Juliette Plump, Saint Alexis Hotel & Spa, Roche Tamarin Lodges & Spa, Papangue Tours, Diana Sea Lodge & Spa, Ashdod Tours, Creoles, Lux Reunion Island, The Reef, Vanilla Islands Connections Meeting, Best Western Le Saint Denis, and of course Air Austral, traveled to Durban on Monday, September 29, before moving on to Cape Town on Tuesday. On October 1 it was the turn of travel agents, tour operators, and journalists from Johannesburg to meet the island’s professionals and increase their knowledge of Reunion Island.
These three cities were not selected by chance. In 2013, during a previous roadshow, the same route was taken and as a result, 234 journalists, travel agents, and tour operators responded to meet the island’s delegation. It was a large attendance which reflected the growing interest among the travel trade and the general public in South Africa for the destination, especially since the launch of visa waivers for these travelers. The B2B sessions were an opportunity for Reunion Island’s service providers to meet the network of South African professionals (travel agents, tour operators, and journalists) and work the market through direct contacts, so that their South African colleagues can sell the destination to their customers with greater ease. Special promotions on air transport, as well as a number of prizes were offered during the roadshow. For the IRT, which seeks to fully exploit this market’s potential, this sales and marketing mission was crucial to establish a better image of the island in South Africa through closer trade ties with key tour operators as well as travel agencies.
In a related development on the island, the 5th anniversary of the recognition by UNESCO of Maloya as a Cultural World Heritage commemorated on Reunion Island.
On the fifth anniversary of the inscription of Maloya Intangible Cultural Heritage, cultural, artistic, and educational activities were offered in the Museum of Villèle on October 2 and 3, and for the general public on October 2-4, the latter of which is Maloya Day, at the Town Hall Square of St. Paul.
Passed on from generation to generation, the Maloya took the form of a dialogue between a soloist and choir, accompanied by percussion. Maloya is at the heart of the traditions of the island.
Visit Reunion allows tourists to discover this moving and meaningful art, of which the islanders are immensely proud. Maloya is part of the cultural and social identity of Reunion Island.
To play, Maloya uses traditional instruments like the roulèr (bass drum), the kayamb (rattle raft), the Piker (a bamboo cylinder struck with two sticks), sati (a metal case hit with sticks), and the triangle, neglected by Sega for the benefit of strings and winds.
Long confined to the sugar estates, Maloya today takes forms in more variety such as with the introduction of instruments like the djembe, the synthesizer, or the battery.
For added information on Destination Reunion Island, click on www.reunion.fr
