 More than 700 000 tourists by year 2002 |
The tourism industry is progressing at a constant rate. Last year the
earnings from that sector was more than Rs 11,5 billion and the country was visited by
more than 570 000 tourists. It is expected that by the year 2002 the Republic of Mauritius
will be visited by more than 700 000 tourists. Mauritius still remains an up-market
destination and it has never been the intention of the authorities or the Mauritius Tourism
Promotion Authority (MTPA) to promote Mauritius as a charter destination.
On the other hand, the government is
proposing to intensify its up-market promotion program but to diversify from its
traditional European market. «Definitely it is our policy. I insist upon that aspect, to
have quality. We are not interested in quantity. We want the tourists coming to our island
to see for themselves that our product retains its up-market character,» insisted Mr Jacques Chasteau de Balyon, Minister of
Tourism.
The resort hotels are constantly upgrading their services and more than
10 projects for building new resorts have been approved for the years to come. One of them
"Prince Maurice de Nassau", is targeted to the top end of the market clientèle
and was inaugurated in November last year. The construction of»Bellevue Trochetia», a
hotel deluxe in the South West of the Island, will begin construction in February 1999 and
is planned to start operation in year 2000. A golf course of 27 holes forms part of that
project. The initial investment is Rs 2,7 billions and comes from a joint venture of
German and Swiss businessmen. There is also the project of « Beau Rivage» which will be
inaugurated in October 1999. The St Geran Hotel, which forms part of the Leading Hotels of
the World will be renovated very soon and the The Touesrok Hotel, have just received the
prestigious title of Best Hotel of the World. Both hotels are from the Sun Resorts Ltd,
which is one of the two main groups of hotel in Mauritius. The other being the
Beachcomber. IBL Ltd, classified No 3 among the Top 100 Companies in Mauritius, is one of
the main shareholders of the Sun Resorts Ltd. In line, with its regional expansion
strategy, the Sun Group acquired a site in the Seychelles for the development of a new
hotel. The Sun Resorts Group registered a 27% turnover growth.
Until recently, Mauritius had 90 registered
hotels with a capacity of more than 7000 rooms with 14 600 beds.
Apart from the sea, sun and beaches, the entrepreneurs are developing a
more green and environmental tourism culture inland where one can live close to nature and
to the people experiencing the real life of that unique island.
| Mauritius also caters for its business travellers and one of the hotel
which is really design for them is The
Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel. Located in the very heart of Port-Louis, it is
unique, permitting its guest to mingle with the local population, and to discover both the
historic past and multicultural present. Within minutes of the Government Centre, the
banks, and other key institutions like the offshore business centre, the Freeport Authority, the
general quarters of the private sector, this makes it easy for their contacts in the city.
Whatever your business requirements- a private discussion with your client or a large
scale presentation, the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel puts at the businessmen disposal
all the sophisticated amenities of its luxurious and well appointed conference rooms.
Every thing is done to help the business people in the Business Centre of the hotel: a
laptop computer can be rented, documents printed and bound, translations provided by
in-house staff, sending of e-mail and fax. In fact all the services needed by a
businessman even for hosting small to large conferences with five conference and meeting
rooms. Mr Najbicz, the dynamic South-African General Manager stated : » the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel is a completely different style of
hotel, it’s a new concept, not located on a beach but on a Waterfront , we offer a
world-class business service, which is completely different to what the Resorts Hotels
offer. We also provide leisures for our customers, like excursions, like a sundowner
cruises, beaches services, etc … Mauritius deserves a World-Class property
business-orientated hotel that has an international reputation as well ». The
friendless of the staff will make the stay even more pleasant. Mr Najbicz also said,
« there is more in Mauritius than just Sun, Sand and Sea, there is an extremly
serious business side in Mauritius, a lot of opportunities in the different sectors of the
economy, and they are business units providing all the facilitities for the need of any
businessmen, like the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel ».
The Labourdonnais Hotel is part of Le Caudan Waterfront which is a
nexly built commercial centre with duty free shops where after business, the guests can
relax.
They can find clothes and jewellery and visit the Craft market of local artisans.
There are art galleries and a wide range of restaurants.
At the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel the guest can choose his
favorite cuisine and the finest wines from Europe, Africa and Asia. 109 rooms offer
luxurious comfort for businessmen , as well as for the carefree tourist. Presidential
suites, luxury, turret are offered, superior and deluxe rooms offer a wide choice of
accomodation.
One cannot mention the development of Mauritian tourism without
mentionning the role played by Air Mauritius.
It has began from scratch some 30 years ago to be one of the best in the region. It has
played also an important role to support the development of the textile industry. Recently
Air Mauritius has concluded a joint venture agreement with Air France and this strategic
alliance is promote further the main economic activities.
Today Air Mauritius has a network of about thirty destinations. It is
closely involved with the following organisationsof which Mauritius is a member: the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IORARC) and
the Indian Ocean Tourism Organisation (IOTO). |
