Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) has welcomed 17,486 Indian tourist arrivals in during the first quarter of 2016. The destination, which is extremely popular among the honeymooners segment in India, is now looking beyond to attract MICE, HNIs, and golfers. In 2015, 72,145 Indian tourists visited Mauritius with an increase of 18 per cent as compared to 61,167 tourists who visited in 2014.
Speaking about the increase in tourism footfall from India, Vivek Anand, Country Manager – MTPA India said, “India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and this is reflected in the rapid growth of Indians travelling overseas. In such a scenario, Mauritius views India as a very important market. Mauritius is a natural destination for Indians given its cultural connection with the island. During Jan-Mar, 2016, we had 17, 486 visitors from India. Whilst we definitely see more footfalls from segments like families, honeymooners and solo travellers, we are targeting the MICE, weddings groups, golfers and film production houses. We have seen an increase in the HNIs, weddings/MICE and golfers in the recent times.”
Mauritius has been the setting in a lot of Bollywood films. The destination is also offering incentives to woo film producers from India. “Cinema Tourism segment is an important segment to showcase the destination and a lot of Indian films have been shot in Mauritius. The Government used to provide incentives for films and television production till 2015 but now it is on a case to case basis,” Anand added.
Divulging more details, he informed that the average length of stay in Mauritius for an Indian visitor is six nights. To further increase the stay, Mauritius is promoting new activities and products in India. “We will have roadshows in five major cities in August 2016. We also send regular updates through e-mailers and facebook posts. Familiarisation trips are also being organised for travel agents. We definitely look forward to do some tactical campaigns with top travel agents in India.”
In 2016, the destination is targeting a 15 per cent increase over 2015. Currently, the major source markets for Mauritius are France, UK, Reunion and South Africa. India is an emerging market, currently standing at number six among all markets.
