As part of their efforts to promote their destination in India, Michael Sik Yuen, Minister of Tourism, Republic of Mauritius, recently visited the country. Addressing the media and travel fraternity in Mumbai, Sik Yuen revealed that Mauritius recorded 26,630 Indian arrivals in the first seven months of 2013, a seven per cent increase over last year, reinforcing the Mauritius Government’s strong faith in India as a source market.
As part of its efforts towards attracting Indians to Mauritius, Sik Yuen revealed the destination’s offer to split promotion costs in half with the Indian travel trade that would like to promote itineraries to Mauritius. “We urge industry members to send in their proposals to TRAC if they wish to organise joint promotional campaigns with us. If approved, we will finance 50 per cent of the budget for the same. If the promotion is being designed for business class travel, we will bear 75 per cent of the cost,” the Minister said.
In addition, MTPA is working on incentives for MICE and weddings. According to Sik Yuen, incentive packages have been proposed, one for 100-250 pax, and a second for 250 pax and above, both of which are awaiting government approvals.
Rajeev Nangia, Associate Director, TRAC Representations revealed that TRAC is launching a Visit Mauritius youtube channel to showcase their collected footage on what Mauritius has to offer. TRAC is also designing a roadmap that will work as an online guide to Mauritius for Indian travellers.
Speaking about air connectivity, Sik Yuen stated that the new airport in Mauritius will help in decongestion at the current one and encourage more airlines to fly between the two countries.