Following a recent ministerial summit held on the French island of La Réunion on September 10, Air Madagascar (MD) and the Vanilla Islands Organization (VIO) of the Indian Ocean have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which aims to strengthen and liberalize air connectivity between member island states was signed by the Seychelles Minister for Tourism & Culture, Alain St. Ange, the sitting President of the VIO, and the CEO of Air Madagascar, Mr Hughes Ratsiferana.
The move is seen as a crucial element in the development of twin- and multi-centre holidays and is one of the the Vanilla Islands Organization’s key objectives and main marketing strategies.
It is expected that more regional airlines, such as Air Austral (UU), Air Mauritius (MK), and Air Seychelles (HM) will be joining the Vanilla Islands Organization in this partnership to further its aims and raison d’etre of increasing the region's exposure through win-win cooperations.
Mr St Ange also called on other airlines serving the region to participate in the drive to better expose the region as a holiday destination of choice.
Both Comoros and neighbouring Mayotte are set to become focal points for two new planned startups, Ola in Moroni, and Ewa in Dzaoudzi, whose ambition is to develop each of their respective islands into a regional hub.
The Vanilla Islands is comprised of the Seychelles, La Réunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, the Comoros, Mayotte, and the Maldives.
