The Hindu Business Line : Mauritius Tourism targets high-end leisure tourists

Kolkata, Feb. 18 Helped by the visit of a high level trade delegation comprising travel companies and top-end hotelliers and tour operators, Mauritius Tourism on Monday launched a major campaign in eastern India to target high-end leisure holiday makers looking for exotic destinations this summer.

Talking to Business Line here on the plans and prospects of raising eastern India’s share of Indian tourist arrivals in Mauritius this year, Mr Vijaye Haulder, Deputy Director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), said with Emirates now connecting Kolkata to Port Louis via Dubai, Mauritius would be easily accessible from this region. The duration of a direct Kolkata-Port Louis flight should be around seven hours, he added.

According to Mr Haulder, Bangalore was being linked with Port Louis from April this year.

He, however, hastened to add that a direct flight from Kolkata to Port Louis may do wonders for tourism promotion between the two countries, which have long established cultural ties.

Mauritius offerings

Harping on the thematic “Mauritius Magical Luxurious Locations” campaign, woven around the concept of sun, sea and hospitality, with stress on water sports (even for non-swimmers), to attract the high-end leisure traffic from eastern India, Mr Haulder said it was fully aligned with MTPA’s objective to enhance its top-of-the line luxury products being offered.

He felt the business potential of eastern India needs to be leveraged favourably, as Mauritius was now witnessing a year-on-year growth of between 10 and 15 per cent with 42,974 Indian tourist arrivals having been recorded for the 2007 calendar year.

“The eastern region’s share of this varied between 5 per cent and 10 per cent and we intend to increase this by an additional 10 per cent in 2008,” he said.

Preferred destination

The target for 2008 is 50,000 Indian tourist arrivals. Pointing out that the average per-day-spend by an Indian tourist in Mauritius was around $200, he said, “this campaign brings new options within the purview of the Indian traveller”.

He said one of the key factors catalysing the momentum in favour of Mauritius as a preferred tourist destination could be the facility of visa on arrival for 60 days, minus the ECNR (Emigration Clearance Not Required) requirement, making travel convenient and hassle-free even for last minute holiday-makers.

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