SUDIPTA DEV – Mumbai
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| Michael Sik Yuen |
Mauritius has initiated a strategy to make India a primary source market. Leading a high level delegation to India from his country Michael Sik Yuen, minister of Tourism and Leisure, Government of Mauritius said, “We have been meeting a lot of stakeholders in India. The objective of our visit is to attract more tourists from India.” He pointed out that while Indian tourists visit Mauritius for mostly five to six days, there is currently a great demand for weekend packages. “We have started discussions with Air Mauritius and will take the necessary action for this soon.” Currently Air Mauritius has four flights every week from Mumbai and is keen to introduce a fifth flight soon.
Mauritius also has a strong focus on the MICE and weddings market in India and has been proactively attracting these segments. “We have also asked for special flights for weddings and MICE segments,” the minister informed, adding that they are also looking at new segments like golf and wellness.
Mauritius had attracted 53,955 tourists from India in 2011 and is looking at reaching the 100,000 mark soon. According to Dr. Karl Mootoosamy, director, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, their government is taking ‘bold’ steps to encourage tourist arrivals. One of the key initiatives is the organising of big international events all through the year, including the Mauritius Shopping Fiesta.
