How did Mauritius tourism perform in 2024?

After Covid-19, all our European destinations have recovered and are doing very well. As per our evaluation of 2024, there has been a growth of 6.6 pc in tourist arrivals. All our European destinations are doing extremely well, South Africa is doing very well and all our other markets have done well. Unfortunately, we have faced some setbacks in the Indian market. The issue is that things have changed in the Indian market.

Hurry Krishna Boodhun

How is the air connectivity between India and Mauritius now?

We have better connectivity with India now since IndiGo, Air India and Air Mauritius are all flying and serving the destination Mauritius. Earlier, it was only point-to-point connection, Delhi and Mumbai to Mauritius, but now with Air India and IndiGo, we have a good connectivity with Tier II and Tier III cities all over India also. And now our Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) here is going to do a lot of going to Tier II and Tier III cities to do education of tour operators and travel agents. We have e-learning programmes and incentives for them. So, now along with our Tier I cities, we are going to focus on Tier II cities because we have a better penetration.

How has the Indian market evolved?  

The consumers’ profiles and habits are changing. But I would like to highlight here that the bonding between India and Mauritius goes much beyond commercial and economic relationships. We share the same cultural values, historical values and political values. And I feel in this context we must use our collaboration. As a destination, Mauritius has so much to offer. From beach tourism and inland tourism to eco-tourism, cultural tourism and adventure tourism. From the north to the south there is a lot of variety of activities for tourists.

And for Mauritius, there are a lot of repeat visitors. People who come here with their families from Europe, and South Africa, come here three to four times because this place is calm, safe and good for taking pictures. The place is an attractive destination and this is the USP of Mauritius.

Why has Mauritius failed to recover its pre-pandemic numbers in India?

There were around 75,000 tourists from India. Now it is slightly lower, but this year there is a turnaround. I think there was an issue of connectivity. But now we have much, much higher flights. And Mauritius cannot be compared with Maldives or other destinations as our service quality is much better and tourists who come here will find the difference between other destinations and Mauritius immediately. We may be slightly higher in terms of prices, but we are going to see how we can reposition our offer, and this is our policy.

How will you promote Mauritius in the Indian market to drive growth?

We are going to look back on the strategy. We have much better bonding with travel agents. We have a lot of e-learning programmes and We are going to do more roadshows in the Tier II cities. We started last year and now the result is coming, so we will continue this. And we need the support of all stakeholders, whether it is tour operators, or the airlines, we are going to do it.

What is the target for tourism growth from India this year, and what segments are you focusing on?

I think last year we got 20 pc and this year we will get 20 pc that is for sure. Look, earlier there was for those who knew the Indian market, we had honeymooners, we had families and we had Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE). We are now focusing on families, honeymooners and MICE.