The second edition of the Indian Ocean Culture and Culinary Festival 2015, the “Vanilla Islands” event in the Comoros, came to a close in Moroni in the Comoros on Sunday 30 August. It brought delegates from the Seychelles, Réunion, Mauritius and the Comoros together and welcomed nearly 3,500 visitors over 3 days.
Organised by the National Tourism Office of the Comoros, led by its president Ms Hissane Guy, with the support of the Vanilla Islands Organisation (VIO) and in partnership with the Comorian government, partners and sponsors from the public and private sectors, the event’s aim was to share the ancient cultural, culinary and gastronomic diversity of the Comoros. It was a unique opportunity to showcase the diverse variety of age-old Comorian culture and to reflect on the complementarities to be developed for the joint promotion of the “Vanilla Islands” as a destination.
Following discussions and reflections by the region’s tourism representatives, the following recommendations were made at the end of the thematic workshops :
- “Tourism and culinary heritage of the Comoros” by Mr Idi Mohamed Abdallah, senior lecturer, specialist in the tourism economy at the University of the Comoros.
- “Blending Indian Ocean cultures, the Vanilla Islands”, by Mr Pascal Viroleau, Chief Executive of the Vanilla Islands (CEO).
- “Culture and added value of the Comoros within the Vanilla Islands”, by Mr Youssouf Abdoulhalik Fakriddine, General Secretary of the Executive Board of the National Tourism Office of the Comoros, responsible for co-operation at the UCCIA Comoros and Mr Aboubacar Boina, UNESCO Focal Point in the Comoros.
The strengthening of the links between islands, the development of synergies when promoting the “Vanilla Islands” as a destination, the development of combined tourist packages and the implementation of programmes to strengthen human capacity to ensure a more standardised service and offering were recommended by all “Vanilla Islands” delegates present.
The members of the Vanilla Islands
Mr Pascal Viroleau, CEO of the Vanilla Islands Organisation, highlighted the INDIAN OCEAN PASS programme to strengthen this synergy and this desire to share tourism resources in the region. This programme aims to develop cruises, which would considerably increase the number of tourists visiting each island.
Source : ONTC