Mauritius hopes for more M’sian tourists
Kota Kinabalu: Tourism is the second major revenue-earner for Mauritius, a tropical island paradise east of Africa in the Indian Ocean, according to the President of the Association of Tourism Professionals (ATP), Daniel Saramandif.
He said the tourism sector contributes significantly to the Mauritian economy, and is a major contributor to the country’s economic transition to be a high-income country by 2025.
“Unfortunately, we do not have the figures yet for tourism receipts for the outgoing year (2015). New strategies are being placed to promote Mauritius from 2016 to 2020. A Tourism Strategic Plan covering this period will be formulated.
“Tourism industry players have been urged to play a pivotal role towards achieving the targeted second economic miracle.
Basically, tourism is poised to boost the island republic’s image as a high-income nation by 2025,” he said when met at the World Sustainability Congress 2015.
According to Saramandif, development of the tourism industry will be articulated around four main axes, namely Attractiveness, Accessibility, Visibility and Sustainability of the destination.
Not surprisingly, the French constitute the largest number of tourists as Mauritius is a former French colony, followed by the British, Germans and Italians. The peak season for the tourism industry is from October to March.
“We do have Chinese visitors but not as many as those from European countries,” he said.
On why very few Malaysians visit Mauritius, Saramandif said this could be due to the lack of big promotion efforts in Malaysia and hoped there would be an improvement.
As at year 2015, there are approximately 114 hotels (including 5-star rated resorts) in Mauritius.
“With several renovations and projects lined up in the industry, the number of available hotel rooms and tourist arrivals is expected to increase at a compound annual rate in 2018,” he said.
Given that the European travel market is the principal tourism source for Mauritius, the President of ATP attributed the lowering of average hotel occupancy rates to a fall of that particular market in 2013. ATP is an association of tourism professionals whose business activities are in direct relationship with tourists visiting Mauritius.
All trades are represented: Hotels, tour operators, Destination Management Company (DMC), travel agencies, music, excursions and land water discoveries, training for careers in hospitality, guides, responsible for transfers, hostesses, guesthouses, restaurants, villas, car rental etc.
“Our Association brings together all these business fields to represent the professionals of all segments of the Mauritian tourism industry vis-à-vis the Government. We want to ensure the promotion of Mauritius as a brand destination with integrity, and to provide services to the standards set by the authorities,” Saramandif explained.
Saying ATP plays a vital role in promoting Mauritius to the outside world, he said: “ATP promotes ecotourism, advocates for the completion of a sustainable and responsible tourism development, participates in debates by providing ideas, analyses report problems and makes recommendations with respect to challenges in the tourism industry.
“Our association (ATP) brings a new and important reflection on how and what to do for the development of our tourism sector for today and for years to come.”
According to Saramandif, ATP is represented by its members both at the local and international levels through tourism fairs which are held throughout the year in different countries for different markets.
“These fairs/exhibitions are delegated by the MTPA (Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority) to the association’s members to work and promote the destination and tourism industry on a worldwide scale.”
Source: Daily Express
