| The NGO “Peace Boat” is diversifying the age group of cruise passengers for the greatest voyage in the world. |
Japanese, Malaysians and Chinese, for the most part, disembarked yesterday at the port of Toliara. They are cruise passengers traveling the world aboard the “Pacific World” with the Japanese NGO “Peace Boat”.
A great first for the city of the sun which, for the first time, welcomes a large number of tourists. One thousand eight hundred passengers and six hundred crew members of the cruise ship “Pacific World” and the NGO
“Peace Boat” set foot on the ground of Toliara yesterday, very early in the morning. These tourists are traveling around the world and left Japan on December 13. “We travel the Southern Hemisphere from Japan and first went to the East of the globe. Hawaii, Honolulu, Papeete in Tahiti, Punta Arenas in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Rio de Janeiro. On February 24, we went to Namibia and two cities in South Africa. And today and tomorrow, we are in Toliara,” explains Rémi, a French national who is part of the “Peace Boat” NGO team.
The cruise passengers are made up of 75% Japanese and the rest are Chinese and Malaysians and a few Americans. The Japanese NGO “Peace Boat” organizes trips around the world three times a year. The entity promotes peace, human rights and sustainable development. “Peace Boat” cruise trips bring together passengers who become a large community united for great causes. “We organize a lot of activities on board during the three months of travel. Workshops, conferences, capacity building on business models for sustainable tourism activities, peace and the promotion of human rights,” adds Rémi.
Organisation
Through their trips to various countries, cruise tourists get involved in trying to transmit the values of the causes that drive “Peace Boat”. In Toliara, some two hundred vehicles welcomed the cruise passengers who, for the most part, reached Morondava during the day yesterday to contemplate the avenue of baobabs. They took a special flight to reach Morondava before sunset which they admired at the baobab alley. For those who did not opt for the Menabe region, they stayed in Toliara to visit the Mangily reserve and especially to look for Malagasy artisanal products.
The big hotels in Toliara are full to bursting. Around twenty local tourist guides accompany tourists to facilitate exchanges. Car rental companies in Toliara, for their part, have expressed their dissatisfaction. “We have not been called for this service even though we have vehicles available. The organizers have contracted with car rental companies from Fianarantsoa and the capital. Why are we not allowed to get this deal? », criticizes René David, car rental driver in Toliara. Mercedes Sprinter vehicles, Hyundai Starex, Boxer Peugeots and all-terrain vehicles flocked to the port of Toliara. The absence of representatives of local authorities was noted. Neither the governor, nor the prefect, nor the mayor were present. There was the regional director of Tourism and that of the Toliara Tourist Office to welcome the thousands of tourists. A somewhat cold welcome.
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| Rémi, member of the “Peace Boat” team chatting with an American cruise line. |
After Toliara, the “Pacific World” cruise, with a total length of 261m, will reach Port-Louis in Mauritius. On March 19, she will be in Singapore then will head towards China and reach Yokohama in Japan on March 29. The boat will have visited twenty-one ports and fourteen countries since December 13, 2023. The NGO “Peace Boat” is on its 116th trip around the world. The price of a trip for one person on the ship ranges from $13,000 to $60,000.
MioitiSoa Mare