Mauritius Expects 89,000 Indian Tourists in 2018

Chennai: Island nation Mauritius is expecting about 89,000 Indian tourists this year and several Indian moviemakers to take advantage of its expense rebate scheme for shooting there, said a top official of Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) here on Monday.

He said one the latest Indian movie projects to be shot in Mauritius is Ram Yug based on epic Ramayana directed by Kunal Kohli. Curiously, a major portion of Ramayana epic happened in another island nation, Sri Lanka. “We offer 30 percent rebate on expenses incurred in Mauritius by a movie producer for shooting the film in our nation,” Arvind Bundhun, Director, MTPA told IANS.

He said there is a steady growth in Indian tourists to Mauritius and this year about 89,000 Indian tourists are expected to visit the island nation. “We are looking at the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions), honeymooners, high net worth people and wedding segments from India. The number of Indian tourists to visit Mauritius is expected to touch 1,20,000 by 2020,” Bundhun added. Last year, about 86,000 Indians visited Mauritius.

According to Bundhun, the dip in Chinese tourists to Mauritius is being offset by tourists from other countries. Mauritius is happy with India for supporting its resolution on the Chagos island in the United Nations last year and added that the island nation is not tilting towards China.

Last year Mauritius brought a resolution in the UN to refer the dispute with the UK over Chagos island to International Court of Justice. Ninety-four countries voted in favour and 15 countries opposed the resolution. Goburdhun said Mauritius does not want its land to be a military base for any nation. (IANS)