Team & Leadership – Vanilla Islands Organisation
The Vanilla Islands Organisation is a regional tourism cooperation platform. It aims to strengthen partnerships,
inter-island initiatives and the international visibility of Indian Ocean destinations. This page presents the
operational team, its areas of work and a selection of public references documenting contributions in institutional,
sectoral and international contexts.
Executive leadership
Pascal Viroleau – CEO (Executive Director)
Pascal Viroleau is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Vanilla Islands Organisation / Association des Îles Vanille.
He leads and represents tourism cooperation initiatives developed for member destinations, in coordination with
institutional partners and tourism industry stakeholders.
The public references listed below document an area of work spanning island tourism cooperation, destination strategy,
cruise development, sustainable tourism, sector resilience and multi-stakeholder dialogue in regional and international settings.
Publicly documented areas of expertise
- Regional tourism cooperation and inter-island travel product development.
- Destination strategy and territorial attractiveness in multi-stakeholder environments.
- Cruise development, flow structuring and alignment with sustainability priorities.
- Sustainable tourism: responsible offerings, biodiversity, local anchoring and regional cooperation.
- Tourism resilience and sector dialogue on risk and crisis management.
- Institutional partnerships and coordination across public, private and professional stakeholders.
Scope of the documentary selection
The selection below is intended as public documentation. It highlights institutional, sector and media references
related to the executive leadership’s areas of work, without replacing the official publications and pages of the organizations cited.
External references – International institutions & organizations (selection)
- UN Women / WEPs— Organization profile mentioning the Vanilla Islands Organisation and its leadership.
- GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council)— Presentation of the document Policy Pathways Towards a More Sustainable Cruise Tourism Sector (Blue Tourism Initiative), including mention of contributors/reviewers associated with Vanilla Islands.
- UN OHRLLS / SIDS GBN Forum (2018, PDF speakers list)— Speakers list for a forum related to SIDS (Small Island Developing States).
- UN Tourism (event archive)— Reference related to work on sustainable tourism development in island contexts.
External references – Sector organizations, resilience, conferences (selection)
- GTRCMC (Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre)— Conference / lecture announcement mentioning Pascal Viroleau as a speaker and CEO of the Vanilla Islands Organisation.
- Youth Tourism Summit (2022, speakers page)— Reference to a speaking role in an international sector setting.
- CCIFM (French-Mauritian Chamber of Commerce and Industry)— Institutional/professional reference related to the recovery of Vanilla Islands tourism.
External references – Business and specialized media (selection)
- Le Défi Media Group (2018)— Interview on cruise development in the Indian Ocean, including growth objectives and strategic outlook.
- Business Magazine (Mauritius)— Interview on inter-island exchanges and regional tourism dynamics.
- Eco Austral (PDF magazine)— Regional economic media reference.
- Voyageons-Autrement— Resource / webinar series on territories and sustainable tourism, including an island tourism sequence and the Vanilla Islands example.
Cross-cutting reading of the selection (strategy, cooperation, sustainability)
- Cooperation between destinations and tourism stakeholders in regional frameworks.
- Alignment between attractiveness, competitiveness and sustainability in destination strategies.
- Cruise development as a lever, with attention to impacts and resilience.
- Dialogue between institutions, sector organizations and tourism professionals.
Editorial note: this selection is documentary in nature. It presents contextualized public references related to the executive leadership’s areas of work.
Operations team
Gaëlle Lallemand – Operations Team
Gaëlle Lallemand is part of the Vanilla Islands Organisation operations team. She contributes to the coordination,
development and implementation support of actions led by the organization in line with its regional cooperation priorities.
Areas of work
- Project coordination and operational support.
- Development of thematic and partnership-based initiatives.
- Monitoring of cooperation actions and coordination with sector stakeholders.
Additional public references may be added to this section as they are consolidated and verified.
Team focus areas
- Regional tourism cooperation and inter-island partnerships.
- Destination strategy and development of territorial attractiveness.
- Development and promotion of Indian Ocean island destinations.
- Cruise development: structuring, attractiveness and alignment with sustainability priorities.
- Sustainable tourism: responsible offerings, respect for territories and biodiversity.
- Sector resilience and dialogue across public, private and professional organizations.
- Institutional relations and cooperation with national, regional and international stakeholders.
Institutional contact
For press inquiries, partnerships, projects or institutional contact requests:
- Email: info@vanilla-islands.org
- Address: 4, Rue Jules Thirel, Immeuble la Balance – Bât B, Savanna, 97460 Saint-Paul – La Réunion
- Form: Access the contact form
Institutional framework
The actions presented on this website are part of the institutional framework of the Vanilla Islands Organisation.
Depending on the content concerned, some projects may be supported by regional cooperation mechanisms, including European funding instruments (e.g. Interreg VI Indian Ocean).
