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Mauritius: 2008 Confirms Upward Trend on Tourist Arrival
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L'Express (Port Louis)
7 April 2008
Posted to the web 7 April 2008
Sharon Sooknah
Port Louis
The prospects are good for tourist arrivals and occupancy rates for year 2008. Both traditional and new markets seem to be thriving to the satisfaction of hotel owners and other operators.
The country welcomed 906,971 tourists last year. The target for 2008 is 975,000 visitors.
So far so good. The first three months of this year have been good and the tourist industry has been thriving. Hotels have often been fully occupied during that period, which is a usual peak. But benefits from festivities, such as the New Year celebrations and school holidays, have had an impact on occupancy rates. Moreover, the number of tourist arrivals for the months of January and February have shown an upward trend with a growth rate of 5,1% for the period compared to last year. The ministry of Tourism is currently compiling the figures for the month of March. Actors of the tourism sector are so far positive for this year.
Hotels across the board have had a satisfying occupancy rate with many of the larger resorts being full over a number of specific peak dates during the first three months of the year. Circumstances have had a positive impact on the occupancy rates. "This year, Easter has been celebrated at a particularly early date and we have felt the results of that last month; we have also had a lot of Russians coming in with the Orthodox New year, which is celebrated later than the conventional new year", declares Clyde Vacher, director of communications for Sun Resorts.
Smaller hotels, too, have been highly optimistic following the peak season just gone by. "The situation so far has met and even exceeded our expectations. The industry is indeed thriving", comments Bissoon Mungroo, president of the 'Hotels de Charme', an organisation for small hotels with less than 90 rooms.
Whether big or small, hotels have welcomed guests from the traditional markets of Mauritius. The French market still holds the number one spot in terms of arrivals. Last year, over 240,000 French tourists visited our shores and nearly 53,000 have already done so during the months of January and February this year.
While most traditional markets are keeping up their promises, the number of arrivals from Germany has been slightly disappointing. The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) has noted that the number of arrivals from Germany has gone down by 1,000 during the January-February period, as compared to the same period last year. According to the MTPA, our performance on the German market has been hindered by a variety of factors of which the high level of competition among destinations on the "dollar zone", the emergence of new destinations and the reduction of seating capacity on the flights linking Germany and Mauritius. In response to these factors, the MTPA has scheduled a series of promotional activities. Mauritius will therefore be featured in a TV program, familiarisation trips are also planned and specific campaigns will be held in a number of German cities.
Honeymoon packages
Certain categories of German tourists, however, still represent an important market category. According to Bissoon Mungroo, German retired people and families still make up for a significant business share in small hotels.
Particular resorts target specific types of customers. In recent years, the honeymooner category has gained momentum. And it is now rather standard for upper-class resorts to offer special "honeymoon packages". While such resorts host a significant number of couples, smaller hotels, however, are not particularly active in that niche. "Honeymooners usually want luxury and invest in a stay", points out Bissoon Mungroo.
Last year, the country welcomed 906,971 tourists. The target for 2008, as spelt out by the Central Office for Statistics, is 975,000. During a seminar held in January by the 'Association of Hotel and Restaurant Owners of Mauritius' (AHRIM), however, it was pointed out that a yearly growth rate of 10,4% would be ideal so as to reach the national objective for 2015. Were we to reach this annual growth target of 10,4%, 90,000 additional tourist arrivals should be recorded this year.
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Over and above the traditional markets, emerging ones, have also, since the beginning of the year, been up to expectations. According to a number of operators, the increase in flight capacities has been clearly felt. "The fact that the industry is doing so well is clearly linked to the opening up of the air space and the facet that there is an increased number of seats on a number of destinations, such as South Africa", states Bissoon Mungroo. The Russian market is another one whose potential is being exploited, particularly since the arrival last December of Transaero.
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