• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

On an average, 50 Gujaratis visited Mauritius every month in a country where tourism contributes as much as 11 per cent to the national revenue.

Advertisement

Ahmedabad Feb. 7 Throwing open 11,000 hotel rooms, Indian festivities, culture and food, Mauritius today joined the ranks of Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore to launch a drive to woo the globe-trotting, high-spending Gujarati tourists from western India.

In 2006, only about 37,500 Indians, mainly from the western states visited Mauritius, even though the total tourist inflow in the island nation was 7, 88,000, mostly from Europe. On an average, 50 Gujaratis travelled to the Indian Ocean island every month in a country where tourism contributes as much as 11 per cent to the national revenue, said Mr Vijaye Haulder, Deputy Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) here on Wednesday. Currently, India is the seventh most potential tourist market for Mauritius.

This nodal agency of Mauritius has launched a "Magical Vacations" campaign and announced a "60-days' visa on arrival" for Indian travellers who would, additionally, no longer require the clearance for Emigration Check Not Required. MTPA has also embarked upon organising roadshows at Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Pune for this purpose, he told presspersons here.

MTPA had begun Gujarat operations 18 months ago.

The former British-French colony populated largely by people of Indian origin is, as its USP, also offering, on the one hand, underwater submarine rides, undersea walk and sub-scooters and, on the other hand, "Bollywood movie trails" to showcase locations where movies are shot, and a duty-free shopping experience. "You will find more Bollywood stars in Mauritius than in Mumbai," he said.

Although MTPA does not have immediate plans to start a direct flight from Ahmedabad, Air Mauritius, the official carrier, is increasing the number of flights and frequencies, with a two-way fare of about Rs 22,000.

Tour operators would soon offer tour packages with an average cost likely to be Rs 45,000 for a week-long tour.

More Stories on : International Travel | Gujarat

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
`India away from India' to woo Gujarati tourists

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line