Promotion trip to South Africa to boost tourist arrival

The Minister of Tourism and Leisure, Michael Sik Yuen, and representatives from the MTPA were in South Africa last week for the first promotional trip of 2014. The main purpose of this trip was to design a strategic plan to boost tourist arrival in Mauritius, especially during the off season period.

Several meetings were held with tour operators, airlines representatives and media, which specialises in tourism, to develop plans for future collaboration. While meeting the representatives of three airline companies, namely Air Mauritius, South African Airline and BA/ Comair, Michael Sik Yuen broached about the measures to be adopted to increase the number of seats available during peak season to meet the increasing demand

The Minister also expressed his desire to promote combined flights to Mauritius, mainly those from Africa, Brazil, Canada and the United States. The delegate from South African Airways said that his company is willing to help to promote Mauritius on the African continent through its flights and those being operated under the “code-share” agreements.

During their promotional trip, an off season promotional campaign plan has been devised and accepted by stakeholders of the South African tourism. The Minister also mentioned that special packages will be offered to large travel group, consisting of 100 or more people and those willing to celebrate their wedding or honeymoon in Mauritius.

The Minister Hon. Sik Yuen, the Chairperson and Director of the MTPA, Mrs. Roy and Dr. Mootoosamy respectively have mentioned about the formulation of a clear destination tagline and image which will be used in all co-branding activities of the MTPA in South Africa.

During these meetings, the Minister also met the producer of the reality show "Tropika-Island of Treasure". The producer said that she intends to shoot 5 episodes of her show in Mauritius. These episodes will be broadcasted on a weekly basis starting in May on SABC.

The Minister had a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Tourism of South Africa, Thokozile Xasa, and the Ambassador of Mauritius in South Africa, Mr. Dossa. He seized this opportunity to exchange views about the signature of an MOU that could be signed between the two countries setting out a vision of closer bilateral cooperation.

Also, it was an occasion for Hon. Michael Sik Yuen to personally thank the tour operators for their support during the past year and encourage them to continue with the marvelous work they have been doing. The tour operators which were present were World Leisure, Beachcomber, Cullinan/ Thomsons and Holiday Factory. Michael Sik Yuen also suggested that tour operators and travel agencies to work closely with small and medium tourism enterprises to boost the sector.

Furthermore, the delegation had interactive and engaging sessions with the tourism marketers regarding the promotion of Mauritius in South Africa. It is good to note that South Africa is a regional market of upmost importance for the Mauritian tourism industry.

For 2013, the South African Market experienced an increase of 5.8%, with 94,208 tourists visiting Mauritius compared to the 89,058 in 2012. The MTPA is expecting a 7% increase on these figures for tourist arrivals from South Africa for the current year.

The Mauritian delegation comprised of the Minister of Tourism and Leisure, Hon. Michael Sik Yuen, Mrs. Roy, Acting Chairperson of the MTPA, Dr. Karl Mootoosamy Director of the MTPA and Mr. Neel Ram, Tourism Officer of the marketing for South Africa.