Island of MICE

As I’m from Bihar, I was told “you are going to visit your country cousins” ahead of my trip to Mauritius. And there they were, Mauritians speaking Bhojpuri with a mix of French and English accents.

After gaining independence from the Portuguese in 1968, the island became a republic in 1992 and has an interesting mix of population with Indian, African, European and Chinese origin. So alongside English and French-based Creole, visitors from India get to hear Bhojpuri spoken here.

More India connections surface as locals speak of their love for Amitabh Bachchan. And no talk about Indian movies is complete without a mention of the Rajesh Khanna starrer Souten . Though the movie released back in 1983, it still holds a warm place in the hearts of locals as it showcases several exotic locations in that country.

Last year, nearly half a lakh Indian tourists visited Mauritius. India is its fifth-largest tourism market and the Mauritian tourism board hopes to soon attract one lakh tourists annually.

“We are very hopeful that Mauritius would continue to register an increase from India in 2013,” says Vijaye Haulder, Deputy Director of Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority.

Besides family groups and honeymooners, this scenic island-nation is proving to be a big draw for the Indian film industry and a popular venue for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibition) and other special events.

Haulder says Mauritius has not failed to notice that Indians today are spending more on their accommodation needs as well as taking longer holidays than before.

The average spend of the Indian traveller is approximately $360 a day. There is also growing interest in adventure activities such as scuba diving, walk with lions and skydiving. The other attractions include a range of cuisines and local rum, besides shopping.

When it comes to accommodation, there are beach resorts ranging from the high-end Hilton, Four Seasons, Oberoi and Intercontinental to the smaller hotels, as well as bungalows and apartments.

The country is anxious to change its perceived image as an expensive destination. Haulder hopes that the competitive packages from hotels and increased air connectivity would address this to a large extent.

Currently there are seven flights a week to Mauritius from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Air Mauritius is the carrier and it operates some of these flights on a code-share basis with Air India.

“Also we are well connected through Dubai on Emirates and provide additional capacity for people looking at combo packages of Mauritius and Dubai,” Haulder says.

He cites the offer of free visa on arrival as another India-friendly tourism initiative.

Unlike earlier, when Indian visitors had to have passport validity of at least six months, today it is enough to have validity for the travel period, points out Rajeev Nangia, COO of Trac Representation.

This is a major boost for the MICE segment.

Besides figuring among the top five destinations for honeymooners, the island is emerging a popular wedding venue.

Most hotels offer wedding packages including the services of professional wedding planners, who take charge of all the arrangements.

For a civil ceremony, various documents should be submitted to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages four weeks ahead of the wedding. For a religious wedding, on the other hand, you should arrive in the country at least 15 days before the ceremony, explains a local.

COMMENT NOW