Air Seychelles boost Vanilla Islands routings

Under the strategic marketing agreement, the signatories will invest in a range of cooperative programs and products to attract visitors to the Indian Ocean from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Air Seychelles and the Vanilla Island’s marketing messages will be maximised in the partnership and both organisations will benefit from enhanced presence on each other’s marketing materials.
Signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the airline’s new Fixed Base Operation (FBO), Air Seychelles VIP, at Seychelles International Airport were Air Seychelles CEO, Cramer Ball and Pascal Viroleau, CEO of the Vanilla Islands Organisation.
Also present were; Alain St. Ange, Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture and President of the Vanilla Island Organisation, Jean-Paul Adam, Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs; Didier Robert, President of the La Reunion Council; other regional dignitaries and senior staff of Air Seychelles.
Ball said the Indian Ocean was strategically important to Air Seychelles with traffic to the region contributing significantly to the bottom line through its Mauritius and Johannesburg routes.
"We are delighted to sign this deal with the Vanilla Islands Organisation, which is doing an impressive job creating interest in the Indian Ocean. Our partnership makes good business sense as there is a great natural synergy between our regional ambitions and the Vanilla Island’s aims to increase connectivity to and between the islands. We look forward to working with them and other regional tourism partners to drive new business to the region and Seychelles," said Ball.
"We are already working closely with Air Austral to increase traffic on each other’s flights by leveraging network synergies."
Viroleau commended the airline’s regional expansion plans and said: "We are delighted to work with Air Seychelles to develop new products that will attract travellers to and between the islands of the region. One need only try to travel from Seychelles to Madagascar or Comoros to realise how limited the transportation options within the Indian Ocean are at present. With the addition of an A319 later this year and simultaneous launch of new regional services, Air Seychelles adds a powerful new dimension to the marketing of the Indian Ocean."
The Vanilla Islands concept, created in August 2010 under the aegis of the Indian Ocean Commission, aims to unify the islands of Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, La Reunion, Seychelles, Maldives and Mayotte, under one tourism brand while retaining each of the island’s unique selling propositions.
 

PICTURED:  Air Seychelles' Cramer Ball and Pascal Viroleau, of the Vanilla Islands Organisation sign the agreement watched  by Alain St Ange, the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture