Pauline Etienne
16 July 2007
Port Louis — At the end of the year, about 900,000 tourists will have visited the country. The ministry of Tourism and operators of the sector are so happy with this forecast reviewed upwards recently.
In fact, the whole country should be rejoicing, as most people expect to have their share in the development brought by tourism in our small country. As far as the government is concerned, it hopes to attract up to two million tourists by 2010. But it must also make sure that the public at large is fully aware that the hospitality industry will not be the only one to benefit from this increase.
"Beaches no longer belong to us, Mauritians! Tourists and hotels are getting the monopoly over our landscape!" Many of us have heard such complaints from locals at one time or another. There might be a feeling, for some people, that tourists take all the advantages of their country without them getting any advantage out of it. So, what will happen if the number keeps rising without giving them the means of changing their minds? In fact they must be convinced that tourist arrivals will also benefit them.
Of course, the building of new hotels and more tourist arrivals normally mean job creation. But the number of people who could be employed in hotels is still quite limited. Advantages should go beyond the closed circuit of a hotel.
A first step has been made with the creation of tourist villages by the Empowerment Programme. Thanks to such initiatives - the works for the first one will start very soon in Belle-Mare - people living in regions where there is a high concentration of tourists will be able to sell their products and set up their small businesses. The objective is clear: share the benefits of the growth in the sector with small entrepreneurs and craftsmen.
Likewise, the Integrated Resorts Scheme (IRS) concept follows the same goals. Ciel Group, for instance, has quite a large budget dedicated to give people living around the IRS project the means of earning a decent living. A small typical village with handicraft and other local products should be set up to help local and regional inhabitants to benefit from the project. All other groups launching an IRS project in the future should adopt the same philosophy.
But the government should go even further. Their branding project - giving a unique image to the country to make marketing easier - may help add an even stronger social aspect to tourist development. By building a strong identity for the Mauritian destination, the government has a golden opportunity of publicising fields that would put those who have never been in the limelight at the forefront. If it succeeds in doing so, then there should be no obstacle in tourism becoming the goose that lays the golden eggs.
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