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Mauritius eyes other African markets for tourism

Port Louis - Xavier Luc Duval, the deputy Prime Minister and tourism minister of Mauritius says his country is targeting Nigeria and other African nations to help sustain growth in tourism revenue that’s expected to reach almost 10% this year.

The country received 114 796 visitors from Africa in the first five months of this year, accounting for 22% of the total, according to Statistics Mauritius. Of the visitors from Africa, more than half came from the nearby island of Reunion and 37 168 from South Africa, the Port Louis-based agency’s latest data show.

Visit the island

"Africa represents a huge potential for Mauritius, which we need to seize," said Duval.

"There are people who are very rich and there is a middle class that is growing on the continent. We're doing well in the South African market, but there are many other countries that interest us such as Nigeria or the entire West African region.”

Tourism in Mauritius is one of the biggest generators of foreign-exchange revenue for the $12bn economy. The sugar- and textile-exporting nation expects to earn about $1.6bn from foreigners who visit the island this year, compared to$1bn in 2015 when it received 1.2 million visitors.

Arrivals from Europe currently account for 58% of visitors, mainly from France, the UK and Germany. The number of visitors from Europe is expected to be boosted further by the introduction of Lufthansa last month of non-stop flights to the island by its low-cost budget unit EuroWings, Duval said.

The country also plans to draw more visitors from Asia. AirAsia Bhd, a Malaysian low-cost carrier, is expected to begin flights to Mauritius in October and could bring about 50 000 passengers a year to the nation’s shores, Duval said.

That may help offset a decline in arrivals from China, after the decision by China Southern Airlines to discontinue its flights to the country. The number of tourists from China dropped 3.9% to 32 828 in the January-to-May period.

Other destinations

“The recent agreement signed with the China national tourism administration is expected to revitalise the Chinese market,” Duval said. “The agreement focuses on building the Mauritian product in China. We should remember the good progress recorded in tourist arrivals from China in recent years. We reached 90 000 arrivals in 2015, while five years ago we had only 7 000 Chinese who visited the country.”

Tourism accounted for 7.6% of Mauritian gross domestic product last year, making it the fourth-largest industry in the country. The industry is expected to grow 6.4% this year, compared to 8.5% in 2015.

The island nation will be competing for African travelers with other destinations on the continent such as South Africa, which is receiving more guests, attracted by a weaker currency.

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