Durban - Travellers these days go on shorter trips but spend longer periods at their destination.
This is what Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority’s chairperson Nilen Vencadasmy said data showed since the island country opened up to tourism for vaccinated visitors after being closed because of Covid.
“So, the (new) premium visa aims to provide flexibility for people who want to come for more than six months. They can work remotely with their laptops,” he told the Independent on Saturday during a visit to Durban this week, part of a roadshow to reconnect with the South African market.
“We are looking at relaxing incoming protocol in the coming weeks. I think that is going to help,” Vencadasmy said.
“The South African market is very, very important for us. Before Covid, we had 130 000 South Africans visiting us. So that is why we are here. This (trip) was due to happen two years ago.”
He said the national airline, Air Mauritius, which recently increased its number of flights between the island and Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport from five to seven, was looking at flying into Cape Town as well.
“They are looking at Cape Town over the coming months, and I know Durban is very much part of the thinking strategy as well.”
Vencadasmy said Mauritius had traditionally received most tourists from Europe and South Africa and hoped to diversify its market by attracting visitors from other countries in Africa. Its other direct air connection is to Nairobi in Kenya.
“We are very proud to be part of Africa,” he said, stressing that the African Union, of which Mauritius is a member, had been instrumental in fighting for its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which Port Louis has claimed but the UK kept after Mauritius’s independence in 1968.
A US military base was established on the island of Diego Garcia, and the archipelago became a “no go” zone. Islanders were evicted and resettled in the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles.
Last month, the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) confirmed an International Court of Justice ruling and ordered Britain to hand over the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.
On Valentine’s Day, a group of Chargossians arrived on the island of Peros Banhos in the archipelago, from Mauritius, on their first free visit unescorted by the British military. Mauritius raised its flag.
Vencadasmy said he would love the islands of the Chagos Archipelago to become new tourist destinations.
“But we would like, first of all, for the Chagossians to be able to get back to their land. That is their land. That is the utmost priority. And of course, if the Chagossians want to welcome travellers, tourists will be most welcome.”
Vencadasmy said that about 1 000 Mauritians worked directly in the tourism industry, which had been hit hard by Covid.
This month Tropical Cyclone Batsirai struck the island. Vencadasmy said its impact paled in significance to Covid.
“We are used to cyclones,” he said.
The Independent on Saturday