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Overview of mauritian tourism industry tourism essay

Mauritius is an idyllic island located in the Indian Ocean which is about 2, 000 kilometres off the south east coast of the Africa. Since independence in 1968, the country has developed from a low-income, agriculture-based economy to a middle-income diversified economy. The economy is based on tourism, textiles, sugar, and financial services. In recent years, information and communication technology, seafood, hospitality and property development, healthcare, renewable energy, and education and training have emerged as important sectors, attracting substantial investment from both local and foreign investors. Mauritian tourism is a vital sector of the economy and is a significant source of its foreign exchange revenues. Mauritius is internationally distinguished as one of the world’s premier luxury holiday destinations. It is considered to be among the highest rates of returning visitors in the world because of its world’s famous hotels. The country is renowned for its natural beauty such as its lagoon, the sub-tropical climate, attractive beaches, tropical fauna and flora. It also possesses a multi-ethnic and cultural population that is friendly and welcoming. These assets are the strength of Mauritius as they attract international tourists. Therefore, this sector is considered to be the key element in the overall development of the island and it has earned a reputation of excellent service in this industry. Furthermore, Mauritius has been awarded as the World Leading island Destination for the third time and World’s Best Beach at the World Travel Awards in January 2012. The Government’s Vision is to achieve a target of 2 million tourists in the island by 2015. To achieve the set target, the number of hotels and room capacity has evolved considerably over the years to cater for the ever-increasing tourist arrivals. Over the years visitors to Mauritius has been mostly from European countries, due to the economic downturn in Europe in 2011, the government decided to diversify its market by providing direct flights to Asian and African countries which were experiencing higher growth in terms of arrival. 200620072008200920102011Tourist arrival788, 276906, 971930, 456871, 356934, 827964. 642Tourist receipts (Rs m)31, 94240, 68741, 21335, 69339, 45642, 845Tourism contribution to GDP8. 5%9. 4%8. 6%7. 3%8. 2%The tourism industry which contributed to only 4% of the national GDP in the early 1990s has grown over the years to become a major pillar of the economy with the contribution to GDP reaching 7% in 2009. In Mauritius, tourists arrivals dropped by 9. 7% over the first nine months before registering a recovery in the final quarter (+2. 4%) bringing the reduction in arrivals for 2009 down to only 6. 4%. Tourism earnings on the other hand tumbled by 13. 4% as the industry suffered from the reduction in spending power of tourists, heavy discounting by operators, a shift in demand towards cheaper accommodation, and the depreciation of the EUR and Pound against the Rupee. It is worth noting that more than 65% of tourists’ arrivals in Mauritius come from Europe. In Mauritius, tourist arrivals for 2010 rose by 7. 3% albeit economic difficulties faced by our main market and unfavourable conditions that disrupted air flights in Europe. Occupancy rate improved to 65% against 61% in 2009. Revenues also went up 10. 5% to Rs39. 5m despite the low EUR relative to the Rupee. Over the period January to July 2011, tourist arrivals grew by 5. 1% to 542, 638. However, for the month of May 2011 tourist arrivals went down by 4% which intensifies the risk of a weak low season particularly as the Euro zone remains fragile. From a hotel perspective the increase in arrivals do not equate to a proportional growth in revenue as a growing proportion of tourists now go towards the non-hotel sector. From an economic perspective, the shift in demand for accommodation is likely to benefit the economy as a whole and also generate more indirect employment. The country should therefore not only be marketed as a high end destination.

Sun Resort Limited

Sun Resorts Limited (SRL) is known to be the main pillar of Mauritian hotel industry. It is a public limited company incorporated on the 10th February 1983 and in January 1993, it was admitted to the official list of the stock exchange of Mauritius. The company is 100% Mauritian-owned and currently has approximately 6000 shareholders. Initially, the company acquired the shareholding of One & Only Le saint Geran Hotel, One & Only Le Touessrok Hotel and La Pirogue Hotel. It incorporated two wholly-owned subsidiaries in 1996: Wolmar Sun Hotel Limited which set up Sugar beach Resort and Sun Leisure Hotel Limited which become Coco Beach Hotel. The hotel group has faced some challenging times over the recent years. On the 5th April 2007, SRL end its 30 years partnership with the Kerzner International Limited but unfortunately it had to part with One & Only Le Saint Geran. The reason for this partition was that the vision of both parties has evolved over times as the focus of KZL was to develop its One & Only brand outside Mauritius whereas the SRL strategy was to drive growth in the three to five star hotel market segments. It was the beginning of the new era as SRL redefined the group’s vision and mission statement. It also restructured and rebranded its hotel chain and tour operators. Now it operates four resorts in Mauritius: Le Touessrok Hotel, Sugar Beach Resort, Le Pirogue Hotel and Coco beach Hotel and one resort in Maldives: Kanuhura. In 2009, Le Coco Beach Hotel was replaced by a new hotel known as the Long Beach Hotel which opened up in April 2011. SRL used the Invest Hotel Scheme1 to raise capital for the construction on the hotel. In 2010, there was another change in the shareholding structure of the hotel group whereby Ciel Investment became the major shareholder following the distribution by IBL of its 29% stake held in Sun Resorts. In 2011, SRL signed a memorandum of understanding with Armand Apavou Co Ltd to lease one of its hotel, Ambre Resort & Spa. 1 Buy a hotel room for a share of room rental earnings and free nights

Naiade Resort Limited

Naiade Resort Limited (NRL) is among the main players in the Tourism industry. NRL was established in 1987 and it has been listed on the stock exchange of Mauritius since November 2005. It is mainly owned by Mauritian. The company operates five hotels in Mauritius: Beau Rivage, Legends, Les Pavillons, Tamassa, Merville Beach. As of December 2006, Naiade Resorts Limited was the third-largest hotel group in Mauritius in revenue and profits. Its Mission Statement: Naiade Resorts is committed to realizing its guest’s dreams. The company achieves this by developing and providing innovative, daring and excellent hospitality products served by devoted, committed, highly trained, vibrant people: its key asset. In so doing, it always strives to create and sustain outstanding returns and value for its shareholders, and to honor its social and environmental responsibilities to the fullest. Its Vision Statement: Naiade Resorts will be recognized as an international hotel group offering a wide range of products in all market segments of the leisure hospitality industry. The company will achieve this through acquisitions, joint ventures and management contracts. It shall be recognized as the most respected business community leader, continuously improving shareholder value and the welfare of its staff whilst fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. The top shareholders are the Compagnie d’investissement et de Développement Ltée, Compagnie d’investissement Immoblier de Flacq Ltée and Anglo Mauritius Assurance Society. In 2007, the group embarked on an expansion strategy that resulted in the doubling of its room offering over the next 3 years. However, much of these investments were financed out of debt and Naiade Resorts wasn’t prepared for a downturn in the market. When the financial crisis broke in 2008, Naiade Resorts faced the drop in occupancies and revenue. The group which couldn’t meet its debt obligations was forced to proceed in 2010 with a capital restructuring worth Rs1bn made up of a rights issue and convertible bonds. Since the arrival of the Chief Executive Officer, Paul Jones in 2010, the group achieved a major turnaround in its operations. His solid experience in the industry and established contacts with tour operators have been key determinants to Naiade’s recovery. The group has also repositioned itself as an affordable luxury resort and various initiatives have been taken to cut costs, while maintaining the service level. On 29 November 2011, Naiade Resort changed its identity to become the LUX* Island Resorts. Now, it has three hotels in Mauritius. Therefore, the Hotel Beau-Rivage is LUX* Belle-Mare, The Pavilions is now called LUX* Le Morne and the hotel becomes LUX* Legends Grand Gaube.

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