A concerted tourism policy

In order to promote Reunion, Région Réunion has put in place the Reunionese Plan for Sustainable and Consolidated Development. Tourism represents a considerable economic sector and is undeniably one of the island’s greatest assets.

 

The SRDAT (Regional Plan for the Development and Enhancement in Tourism) aims to promote the island’s biodiversity and cultural diversity (ecotourism) and was first set up in 2000. It represents the strategic basis for policies governing the development of tourism in Reunion for the next 20 years. The objectives are to reach an annual total of one million tourists by 2020 and to double turnover created by the tourism sector, while adhering to the principles of sustainable development focusing on three inter-connected dimensions: economic, social and environmental.

 

In order to reach these objectives, IRT aimed to work on tourism policies in the most concerted way possible, based on the following principles:

 

- in the name of excellence, Reunionese architecture complying with the Haute Qualité Environnementale (a norm assuring renewable forms of energy) for all new structures providing accommodation,

 

- in the name of territorial solidarity, aiming to create an equal balance between the island’s micro-regions when setting up new tourist activities,

 

- in the name of solidarity within the Reunionese population, tourism policies aiming on one hand to develop luxury tourism thus improving our image abroad and on the other hand to develop social tourism (camping for example) to cater for the less advantaged,

 

- in the name of an opening of horizons, requesting the government to make access to Reunion easier for foreign tourists.

 

And all this in keeping with Reunionese traditions based on its founding cultural and religious values.