Mauritius Keen To Ease Visa Procedures

Tourism Mauritius is keen to boost tourism relations between Indian and Mauritius. Speaking exclusively to Express Travel & Tourism in Mauritius recently, Anil Gayan, the tourism minister of Mauritius, said that he was aware of the visa hassles and would soon hold talks with the Indian government to implement a visa-on-arrival for Indians travelling to Mauritius. He stressed the importance of the growing Indian component in inbound tourism to Mauritius and appealed to members of the Indian travel trade to promote the destination more proactively. The minister also promised to look at providing attractive fares and packages for Indians in conjunction with Air Mauritius. Speaking after the Air Mauritius Top Ten Indian Agents Awards, Suresh Seegobin, the new chairman of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) also acknowledged the increasing role of India as a destination or source market for tourism in Mauritius. Stressing on the close social and cultural links between Indian and Mauritius, Seegobin asserted that MTPA would make an all out effort to ensure that many more Indians travelled to Mauritius. Besides ear- marking an increase in budget for marketing and promotion of Mauritius as a lucrative destination for Indians, Seegobin felt that there was a need to make it more cost effective and strike a closer working relationship with the Indian travel trade. Both, the tourism minister and the new chairman of MTPA have promised a dedicated, new approach to tourism between India and Mauritius which may see the introduction of new flights by Air Mauritius, higher visibility in the Indian market, new ad campaigns and promotional activities and a holistic approach, which will be proactively tailored for the Indian market.