AIR MAURITUS TO ADD THIRD HONG KONG FLIGHT FROM MID 2013
Only days after confirming that Shanghai will be served nonstop and no longer via Kuala Lumpur from next year onwards, did news emerge that Hong Kong will get a third weekly flight effective 02nd July next year.
Mauritius tourism sector has warmly welcomed the news as it will add extra seats on routes into China which is seen as an emerging growth market, able to take up the slack of a weaker than expected performance by traditional markets for Mauritius in Europe.
The island’s private sector, for long at odds with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority over the failure to more effectively market the island in new and emerging markets has described 2012 as a year of lower than expected occupancies as the Maldives are for the first time ever overtaking Mauritius as the number one destination among the Indian Ocean islands, with number three placed Sri Lanka also closing the gap.
The ongoing restructuring at Air Mauritius, in particular since the announcement in September that Andre Viljoen was made substantive Chief Executive after almost two years on the job in an Acting capacity, has taken a firm hold by the look of it and the often critical hospitality industry on the island, after the withdrawal and then part re-entry in the Australian market, seem more inclined now to throw their weight behind the national airline again and has toned down demands for foreign carriers to be given added frequencies, for now at least.
Watch this space for regular and breaking news from the Indian Ocean aviation scene.
