Détours Madagascar is a Malagasy law company operating as a travel agency and tour operator. Founded in 2013, our company currently employs 14 full-time staff members and enabled over 600 people to travel in 2019, both in Madagascar and in Mauritania, where we also have a presence. Specializing in tailor-made travel, our passion and core business lie in designing and organizing original and distinctive itineraries that spark the curiosity of explorers, while placing human and natural environments at the heart of our concerns. As true nomads at heart, driven by a wealth of unique experiences, we guide our travelers through preserved universes, far from mass tourism, in respect of the customs and traditions of our hosts.
We are committed to giving meaning to our trips, through a sustainable and responsible approach, by promoting and developing tourism that respects the environment and communities; supporting local communities by developing tourism products that contribute to their economic growth and the conservation of their natural and cultural heritage; and establishing partnerships with various stakeholders who share our vision of tourism and our ethical code.
The COVID-19 crisis has brought the entire world to a halt, and tourism in Madagascar is no exception. This pause encourages us to reflect on our skills, resources, desires, and other projects. We would like our company, our teams, our field knowledge, and our expertise in managing complex situations and logistics to be useful in transversal fields that are intrinsically linked to our values. We are determined to take action and wish to participate in addressing and accompanying the solutions to be provided. We want to be proactive in the face of this situation, which can become very complicated here in Madagascar, while limiting the socio-economic impact on our collaborators by involving them in meaningful actions.
This is why we would like to propose the launch of a joint reflection on topics that align with the visions and values shared by us, the Tany Meva Foundation, and Détours Madagascar: the conservation and enhancement of the terrestrial and marine ecosystems of the Great Island, where local communities can enjoy better living conditions while feeling involved in the preservation of these unique environments. The forms that this partnership could take remain to be defined: the involvement of our teams in the projects already implemented by the Tany Meva Foundation, for example, in terms of follow-up or deepening of ongoing actions; or the creation of new collaborations, leveraging our human and technical resources, combined with your expertise in managing large-scale projects.
Attached you will find a document detailing our resources and skills, as well as suggestions on how we could put them to use within the framework of our collaboration. The idea is once again to open the discussion on the field of possibilities, without limiting ourselves to these few elements.
My goal is to put all our workforce, skills, and human and material resources into providing a response to the economic, social, and environmental consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Madagascar, while avoiding falling into precariousness and preventing the disappearance of our company.
I would like to propose a meeting to discuss these suggestions in person: would you be available on Monday, June 29, at a time and place of your convenience? If this date does not work for you, please feel free to share your availability.
I am confident that we will be able to develop our ideas into joint solutions, not only for the duration of this crisis but also in the long term, in a sustainable manner. I remain reachable by email ([email protected]) and by phone at (+261) 34 48 621 34, and I look forward to discussing this with you in person soon.
Sylvain PHILIP
General Director
Détours Operator SARL
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1 Détours Madagascar is a brand of the company Détours Operator SARL.