[ISL] Reuters on the French Indian Ocean island of La Réunion

[rfmcdonald]

The island of La Réunion, a French overseas department in the southern Indian Ocean, is getting a higher profile these days since the discovery of wreckage possibly part of missing flight MH30. Joe Brock's Reuters article, hosted at The Globe and Mail, notes the hope of some on the island that this might rebound to the island's benefit.

Many of the 800,000 residents have been overwhelmed by the attention placed on their island, where big local stories are usually about shark attacks and volcanic eruptions.

“Before, the only people who knew about this island were scientists and surfers,” Villeneuve, 43, told Reuters from the island’s volcano observatory, where he is studying the after effects of the latest eruption.

[. . .]

Reunion’s tourist board and residents hope the island’s unexpected role in the MH370 mystery will have a positive impact on visitor numbers, as images of the dramatic volcano, sandy beaches and crystal blue waters are aired around the world.

Reunion, roughly half the size of Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali, attracts a fraction of the millions of tourists who flock to other Indian Ocean islands, like Mauritius and the Maldives.

“The island is so beautiful and mysterious. It’s like Hawaii,” said Fadila Hammachi, 55, a French businesswoman who comes to Reunion on holiday every year.

“I hope more people come but not too many. I like it for myself,” she adds, pointing towards the lush, mountainous interior where sugar cane, ginger and pineapples are grown.