2010.08.1804:47:00UTC+00Mauritius Maintains 2010 Tourist Arrivals Forecast

Total tourist arrivals to Mauritius increased during the first half of the year, the Central Statistics Office said while maintaining the government's forecast of receiving nearly 1 million tourists this year.

During the January to June period, tourist arrivals increased 6.2% annually to 439,150 compared to 413,504 in the corresponding period last year. In 2010, visitor arrivals are expected to rise 5% year-on-year to 915,000 from 871,356 in 2009. The same forecast had been put forward by the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority in February.

The latest assumption is based on the data available on tourist arrivals and information gathered from the main stakeholders. According to the Bank of Mauritius, tourism receipts for this year will be around 37,935 million rupees, representing an increase of 6.3 % over the last year.

Last week, Mauritian Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth unveiled the government's plan to restructure the tourism sector to support the economy from the European debt woes. The 2.7 billion rupees plan, to be executed in the next five years, stressed on reducing the industry's dependency on euro-based markets by diversifying into India, China, Middle East and Russia.

Arrivals in June totaled 53,327, higher than 46,866 visitors during the same period last year, but lesser than 71,055 in May. In the second quarter, as many as 189,179 tourists visited Mauritius compared to 180,596 during the same period last year.

Tourist arrivals from Europe increased 2.8% during the January to June period, while the number of those from France and Italy were up 8.7% and 1.6% respectively. Arrivals from Germany, however, slipped 3.3%.

Arrivals from Africa grew 13.2% and from Asia increased 21.2%. There was a 12.8% decrease in tourist arrivals from Oceania, while a 1% growth in arrivals from the U.S.

The Mauritian economy expanded 3.6% year-on-year in the first quarter, following 6.7% growth in the previous three months. The statistical agency had downwardly revised its 2010 growth forecasts to around 4.2% from 4.6% growth estimated in March. Jugnauth has forecast economic growth in 2010 between 3.5% and 4%.

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