Breaking Travel News spoke with Arvind Bundhun, head of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, on how it feels to be recognised by voters from all over the world.
Travel Breaking News How does it feel to be the winner of the World Travel Awards?
Mr. Arvind Bundhun, It is a great honour for Mauritius to be named the Leading Adventure Tourism Destination in the Indian Ocean. We are pleased to witness voters’ enthusiasm for the variety of experiences we provide to overseas tourists.
The adventure-seeking visitor will discover an exquisite vacation in Mauritius, where they will be able to enjoy something remarkable every day, no matter how lengthy their stay.
This award recognises the hard effort, devotion, and dedication of our tourist sector professionals, including hotels, villa rental operators, beach merchants, skippers, taxi drivers, restaurant owners, and street food sellers, throughout a challenging year.
Everyone has worked relentlessly to ensure that Mauritius was ready to welcome visitors once the time came to open our borders, capable of providing tourists with the Mauritian paradise experience they know and love while also ensuring their safety and security from Covid-19.
BTN: How would the trophy help you market Mauritius Tourism as we approach the year 2022?
This honour comes at an opportune moment, since we have just begun our summer season, which is our busiest season for tourists. It serves to highlight some of the best things Mauritius has to offer aside from our world-famous beaches and lagoons. Being recognised in this way is a fantastic advantage, and we anticipate that it will help drive up demand for travel to Mauritius even more.
Demand has been quickly growing in recent weeks as customers in our main markets respond to changes in travel restrictions that make vacations more feasible.
In the next months, we will enhance flight capacity for the national carrier, Air Mauritius, from France, South Africa, Reunion, and the United Kingdom, and other airlines will do the same.
BTN: What drew voters’ attention; what do you believe distinguishes Mauritius Tourism from its competitors in Africa and the Indian Ocean?
AB: Mauritius is more than just a holiday destination; it is a living, breathing, working island with 1.3 million citizens that can offer a wide range of experiences, from the vibrant capital of Port Louis to the national parks in the south, bustling markets, every type of cuisine from Mauritius’ diverse population, historical and cultural sites, breath-taking views, and adrenaline-pumping activities.
BTN: How does Mauritius Tourism feel about the reopening of the Covid-19 pandemic?
AB: After an 18-month wait, Mauritius Tourism finally opened its doors to foreign tourists on October 1st. Vaccinated travellers are exempt from quarantine procedures as long as their testing responsibilities are met.
Mauritius has one of the world’s best Covid-19 reactions. Our public health policies are internationally regarded as best practises, and we have an unusually high vaccination rate – around 90% of the adult population is completely vaccinated.
Tourists may feel completely protected and secure, allowing them to enjoy the idyllic vacation they so well deserve. We were more careful in reopening than many other nations, opting to vaccinate first and then reopen.
This was not only a critical component of our public health-first approach to handling the epidemic, but it was also seen to be the greatest method to assure long-term stable growth.
Because tourism accounts for 25% of our GDP, we had to get the reopening just perfect. The strong demand we’ve witnessed in recent weeks validates our strategy.
