Ministry of Tourism and Leisure

Tourism Minister of Mauritius
Incumbent Hon. Charles Gaëtan Xavier-Luc DUVAL G.C.S.K., F.C.A.
Term length	Five years, renewable
Website

Organization

The political head of the Ministry is the Minister for Tourism and Leisure. Senior staff include the Permanent Secretary and other members of the Administration Section.^[1] The work of the Ministry is divided between the Technical Unit, which covers policy and planning, and the Leisure Unit, which promotes leisure activities for citizens and tourists.^[2]

Other public bodies also operate under the aegis of the Ministry: the Tourism Authority, which regulates the tourist industry,^[3] the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, which promotes Mauritius as a tourist destination,^[4] and the Tourism Employees Welfare Fund.

Policy

According to the Ministry, "[T]he National Tourism Policy emphasizes low impact, high spending tourism",^[5] and sees Mauritius as a high-end tourist destination.^[6] The government's National Long-Term Perspective Study, published in 1997, noted the growth in tourist arrivals and proposed a "green ceiling" on the number of tourists to prevent overdevelopment of the island's environment, with increased revenue coming from higher spending per tourist.^[7] Tourist arrivals have grown from 422,463 in 1995^[8] to a forecasted 1,030,000 for 2014.^[9] The continued growth in tourist arrivals has been criticized by We Love Mauritius, an environmental non-governmental organization.^[10]

In 1997, there were 87 hotels with a total capacity of 6,800 rooms and 14,100 bedplaces. Average room occupancy rates were 72% for all hotels and 78% for large hotels (defined as established beach hotels with more than 80 rooms). Figures for bed occupancy rates were 64% and 70% respectively. Several beach side resort hotels are owned and/or operated by large groups such as Sun International and Beachcomber Hotels. It is estimated that around 25% of visitors stay in non-hotel accommodation, such as boarding houses, self-catering bungalows and with friends and relatives.^[5]

The Ministry's Strategic Direction for 2013 to 2015 states that it seeks continued growth of at least 5% annually in the tourism sector, and addresses declining demand from traditional markets such as Europe by seeking customers from other regions such as China, India, and Russia.^[11] Mauritius also participates with other island nations in the Indian Ocean in the Vanilla Islands scheme to promote themselves collectively as a tourist destination.^[12]

Economic Importance

Tourism, third pillar of the economy after the E.P.Z. manufacturing sector and Agriculture, contributes significantly to economic growth and has been a key factor in the overall development of Mauritius. In the past two decades tourist arrivals increased at an average annual rate of 9% with a corresponding increase of about 21% in tourism receipts. In 2000, gross tourism receipts were 14.2 billion rupees (508.3 million US $) and contributed to about 11% of our GDP. Tourism may be called to play an even more important role in the wake of the After-GATT Agreements.

Growth in Tourist Arrivals

Tourist arrivals have been expanding consequently, thus rising from 103,000 in 1977 to 656,450 in 2000, a more than sixfold increase. About 67% of the tourist arrivals are of European origin, with France supplying nearly half. The nearby Reunion French Territory is the most important short haul source market accounting for about 13% of total tourist arrivals. Asian residents provided 6% of tourist arrivals, almost half of which originated from the Indian Sub-Continent.

In 2000, total number of nights spent by tourist was estimated to about 6.5 million, representing an increase of 13% over 1999. The average length of stay works out to around 10 nights and average expenditure per tourist reached about Rs. 22,000

Based on the favourable growth registered in tourist arrivals, it is estimated that arrivals for the year 2001 would be around 700,000 (+10%) with total gross receipts of the order of 15,500 million rupees.

References