A high level “Economic Intelligence Unit” will soon be operational within the Ministry of Tourism. This was announced at the 37th Annual General Meeting of the “Association of Hotels and Restaurants In Mauritius” (AHRIM) on the evening of 24th June 24, 2010.
The Tourism Minister has described that the new economic unit will work in his department as “the econometric of tourism”. The high level “Economic Intelligence Unit will be operated by a staff of world-class professional and experienced in economic and tourism.
The Economic Intelligence Unit, of his department will play an important role in achieving the aim of the government. Their tactic is to identify measures that could make the tourism industry and recreation become a wider segment of the population in the medium and long term. This unit will connect between the tourist operators, the Bank of Mauritius and the Ministry of Finance.
It is required to search right to the least details at the rankings and indices in terms of tourist arrivals and competitiveness, to see if Maurice has a capacity to improve its rankings. The Tourism Minister has also said that the aim of his ministry is to boost the reputation of the country internationally. The Economic Intelligence Unit is working closely with industry to see how the process is going on.
According to the Minister, Europe remains the main market of Mauritius. He reminds us that the European customer represents approximately 70% of the tourist market of the island. Instead of resorting to emergency measures such as depreciation or devaluation of the rupee to cope with the crisis of the euro, they must find solutions to long-term growth and secure the sustainability of the tourism sector.
Apart from the creation of the Economic Intelligence Unit, ministry of tourism launches an intensive campaign in September 2010 on European markets, particularly the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and the peripheral markets in Europe. Mauritius will partner with marked events such as the Festival de Cannes, the Cartier Polo International and Royal Ascot. Moreover, tourism potentials of the Middle East, India and China are also exploited.
But also there is a potential strategy of considering the islands of the Indian Ocean through the combined stay in Mauritius which now is looked upon as the hub. The cost of airline tickets with Air Mauritius will be more attractive and partnerships with other airlines will be negotiated. The Ministry of Tourism will also engage in the popular project entitled “Maurice Ile Durable”.
The minister of tourism has boldly declared that the government of Mauritius is using economic crisis as an opportunity to bounce. The government dares to approach every situation with a bold attitude, innovative and resilient. It also expected that the new Board of Directors of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) will be appointed on 1 July 2010, and that the stimulus package as setup by the Ministry of finance will be reviewed.
In the evening of that day, AHRIM introduced the members of their new board for 2010-2011. Tommy Wong gave way to Jean-Jacques Vallet to the presidency of the association. Eynaud Francis will assume the position of Vice President and Patrice Hardy, the treasurer of AHRIM. Jean-Jacques Vallet told that during his reign as president, he wanted to focus on two points. First, the image of the destination which, has been tarnished by drastic reductions of tariffs in general due to the crisis and in response to requirements of tour operators and the market. Secondly, the tourism development which is the backbone of Mauritian economy and which supports thousands of jobs direct and indirect.
By: Valirie Senek
About the Author:
Valirie is a retired flight attendant and she is now working as Freelance Tourism Marketing consultant. Her in-depth knowledge in this field has contributed much in building a Mauritius Hotels database for some web directory owner.
