Enhancing visibility, attractiveness, accessibility and sustainability of Tourism industry

Tourist arrivals in Mauritius are expected to increase at 2.5 percent in 2019. To this end, some Rs 535 million are being allocated to the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) as well as an additional sum of Rs 160 million with a view to redynamise the Shanghai and Kenya routes. The MTPA in a bid to develop a new tourism brand to reposition Mauritius as a premium destination, will reinforce visibility of the island in traditional markets as well as in China, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Scandinavian countries, Ireland and Eastern Europe.

As regards Cruise Tourism, a Passenger Cruise Terminal Building with shopping and other facilities is being built to cater for some 4,000 Cruise and Inter-Island passengers. Several initiatives are being taken by the Government to encourage the development of marinas and to attract more visitors who come on their own by sea. They are:

·         regulations will be published for the operations of commercial marinas; 

·         a yacht code will be introduced;

·         an 8-year income tax holiday will be granted to a newly set-up company developing a marina; and 

·         Value-Added Tax (VAT) exemption will be provided on the construction of marinas.

To better harness the potential from Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism, the MTPA will revive the Special Incentive Scheme which provides grants of up to Rs 200,000 to MICE promoters and wedding planners. Additionally, a VAT refund scheme is being introduced on accommodation costs for events with at least 100 foreign attendees staying for a minimum of 3 nights, business meetings, conferences and weddings.

A national campaign of cleanliness and embellishment of the whole island which has as objective to build a strong image of Mauritius as a tourist destination will be launched. Some 150 percent of the expenditure incurred by such hotels on cleaning, renovation and embellishment works in the public realm, will be deducted from their taxable income in a bid to encourage hotels to participate in the campaign.