Vanilla Tourism – by Colin Ringleib (Vice President, Ultra International Inc) August 26, 2024

I have long had the opportunity to travel the world visiting growing areas and production facilities for flavoring and fragrance materials. The chance to see these remote locations and meet the people who live and work there has always felt like a wonderful privilege. Since many raw materials are long distances from normal tourism stops, the local hotels and transport were spartan and you needed to be quite adventurous. But today, as more people are choosing to travel, they are looking for new experiences and, since essential oils have expanded their reach to consumers around the world, they are interested in seeing where these natural ingredients are grown and processed. This has created an opportunity for these facilities to earn extra income between the crop seasons and expand awareness among consumers.

During the last few years, I have noticed that vanilla growers in several locations have expanded connections with local tour operators and they are now offered as excursions from resort hotels or cruise ships. While I often visited vanilla plantations as a member of the flavor industry, it has been different to see similar locations as a tourist and see how tourists react to the opportunity to see a working farm and talk to the owners. I will highlight a few of the vanilla related locations I have visited as examples, but it certainly being done by other essential oil producers and probably significantly expanded.

 

TAHA’A (FRENCH POLYNESIA)

While the Tahitian islands (French Polynesia) are well known for their unique vanilla species to those in the flavour industry, average consumers do not really understand the flavour difference in the Vanilla x tahitensis variety. On a cruise, I had the chance to visit a small producer on the island of Taha’a via a shore excursion organised by Holland America. We took a small boat from Raiatea and visited a very small vanilla field and the owners explained how they pollinated the flowers and when the green beans were ripe, how they cured them to produce finished vanilla beans. They had a little shop selling a small variety of vanilla-related items and other souvenirs. Our small group of about 20 walked near the small open-air growing area of several hundred vanilla plants. They highlighted that there were several other small local growers from whom they purchased the green beans, so they had a larger volume to process. They said that their production was about 10-20 tons. Clearly the small collection of plants where they described the process were probably only for show, but nearby we passed several modern fields with netting and security fencing to prevent unauthorised access to the plants.

 

REUNION

Reunion Island was once a major source of vanilla beans, in fact, the common term Bourbon vanilla relates to Reunion which used to be known as Bourbon Island. While the island has a vibrant agricultural sector, it has rapidly expanded as a tourist location due to its weather, biodiversity, scenery, and cultural diversity. As a French overseas territory, it is a popular destination for French tourists.

During a recent cruise stop in Reunion, I took an excursion to visit a local vanilla producer. I was impressed with their facilities designed to welcome visitors to their small plantation. They had a nice visitor centre with a small store where visitors could buy vanilla and other tourist items. They had a nice room with posters showing the process of growing and curing vanilla beans. They offered vanilla-flavoured coffee to sample when we arrived. They could receive two buses at once but they divided the group into smaller groups of about 15 to tour their vanilla plantings and they explained the process in detail and answered questions. They had two nice fields fenced and covered with netting to provide the necessary shading. There was also a field shaded with small trees allowing the vines to be supported, this would have been the traditional process. After touring the vanilla plants, they sold a lot of vanilla extract, beans, and other souvenirs.

 

NEW CALEDONIA

Earlier this year, I visited Lifou, New Caledonia on a cruise ship and again my excursion talked about local vanilla cultivation. My tour involved a hike through their native forest where they explained how the local inhabitants maintain a strong connection to their environment. Vanilla cultivation is an opportunity for them as it does not involve clearing the forests. Small farms can be created yielding a high-value crop and they are also linking them with tourism to enhance the overall value of the crop. New Caledonia is a French colony with significant political autonomy, but the local Kanak indigenous people determine how they use the land. An excursion exploring Kanak culture and connections to local vanilla production allowed us another chance to explore vanilla tourism.

 

THE FUTURE

It would be useful to look closer at the economics of vanilla producers who are able to add tourism to their business model. It will vary based on the location, but clearly regions with strong tourism can tap into this trend. In a similar way to how wineries have capitalised on tourist visits to wineries, aroma industry producers have the opportunity to selectively expand their capability to support tourism. Adding tours, restaurants, demonstrations, shopping, etc. can expand the business and often support seasonal or year-round traffic. Consumer awareness of aroma-related materials has expanded over the last decade and with an expanded interest in unique experiences, consumers will be attracted to a well-designed tourism activity.