Mauritian media examine tourism on the Island
Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The situation in the tourism industry, one of the main pillars of the Mauritian economy, dominated newspaper headlines in Mauritius this week.
The issue was raised last Tuesday when Opposition Leader Xavier-Luc Duval called on the Minister of Tourism, Anil Gayan, to discuss the situation in the tourism industry that he considers "is the worst the country has seen in the last ten years".
The daily Le Mauricien, reporting this event, writes that Mr. Duval pointed out that the rate of tourists arriving by air dropped by 8.7% in March and 4.5% in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2018.
"This contrasts with the excellent growth performance of our major competitors in the Indian Ocean," he said.
According to the paper, the Minister of Tourism rejected this statement, estimating instead that the situation will improve in the coming months.
"This led the Leader of the Opposition to accuse the Minister of Tourism of playing the ostrich," it wrote, adding that "ignorance is worse than stupidity."
According to Le Mauricien, the minister noted that the total number of tourist arrivals for January 2019 increased by 1.1% despite adverse weather conditions, "adding that the number of tourist arrivals in February was at the same level as in February of last year."
Subsequently, Mr. Xavier-Luc Duval held a press conference in which he said that "the tourism sector is in crisis.”
"If we cannot identify the problems, it may become serious. After analysis, I noticed that there are big problems with our traditional markets. Citing the figures from the Bank of Mauritius, Mr. Duval said that the country recorded a shortfall of Rs 900 million in February 2019, while for the month of January, the shortfall was Rs 600 million. (34.50 = 1 dollar) Should the hotels begin to close, as was the case with the factories for the government to react?" he asked.
According to Le Mauricien, the Leader of the Opposition recalled, at the same press conference, that the tourism sector "is one of the most important sectors for our economy, accounting for 24% of Gross Domestic Product, and generating 130,000 direct and indirect jobs."
This newspaper wrote that the Leader of the Opposition then cited various problems that must be addressed, "the lack of professionalism and rigor in the promotion of Mauritius.”
He added: "We need to review the product promotion and adapt to new challenges; there is no night life and the museums are in decay. "
For its part, the daily L'express says that the Minister Anil Gayan has quantified the decline in capacity of air transport on different issuing markets for the first quarter of the year.
It reported: "We learn that during this period Mauritius counted 24 less flights equivalent to 7,200 fewer seats on China. Then, 17 fewer flights on India, which corresponds to 5,100 fewer seats and 13 flights or 4,200 seats less on the United Kingdom. This, after calculation, totals 16,500 seats.”
"I must emphasize that air connectivity is essential to tourism growth as Mauritius is a long-haul destination, with 99% of the total number of tourists arriving by air," said Anil Gayan.
L’express, in an opinion piece entitled "Perspective long haul", and signed Anne Robert, the latter writes: "The last ten years, everything was fine in tourism. The financial crisis passed, the numbers had recovered. But there, oops ... Nothing goes! The arrivals dive. Not happy, tourists? Why ? Everyone goes out of their little story: Easter, yellow vests, Brexit ... Except that other destinations have the same excuses. Not the same results. It's a bit cheap as explanation. "
-0- PANA NA/VAO 27April2019
