Business tourism

Mauritius is located off the South West coast of the Indian Ocean, approximately 230 km from Reunion Island and 860 km from Madagascar with a surface area of 1,872 square kilometres.

Independent since 1968 and a Republic since 1992, Mauritius is known as a democratic state based on the Westminster model that guarantees the separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers.

The island enjoys political stability While the President is the Head of State, the Prime Minister has full executive powers and is the Head of Government.

The capital of Mauritius is Port-Louis. The Mauritian population forms a mosaic of different races, cultures and religions. Mauritians are generally bilingual, being fluent in both French and English. English is the official language but Creole and French remain the most commonly spoken languages and various oriental languages are also spoken.

Mauritius has a pleasantly tropical climate. Cyclones may occur between November and May.

On the eve of independence in 1968, Mauritius was essentially a mono-crop economy based on sugar production. In the early 1970s, the island set out to diversify its economy by encouraging the establishment of export-oriented companies within its Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and the development of the tourism industry. 

The offshore and freeport sectors also developed and new areas of growth are Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), sea food processing, duty-free shopping and the Integrated Resorts Scheme which opened the door for foreigners to acquire property in Mauritius.

The average growth rate, over the past five years, has been around 5%.

Air Mauritius flies to 28 destinations. South African Airways, Emirates, Condor, LTU, Corsairfly, Air Europe, Air Madagascar, Air Seychelles, BAComair, Virgin Atlantic, Transaero also fly to Mauritius.

Beach resorts in Mauritius are among the best in the world and there are currently 100 hotels and 11 102 bedrooms in Mauritius. There are 8 high class resorts and 30 luxury hotels.

An emerging destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE), Mauritius offers a unique environment for meetings, incentives, conferences and events:

-                     A luxury image together with a creative and can-do attitude as well as an island with a flair for hospitality and kindness towards visitors.

-                     Great service, luxurious accommodation, the finest gastronomy and world class amenities.

-                     Abundant nature with tailor made adventures on the dark blue sea or in the lush evergreen interior.

-                     State-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure for the organization of great events and conferences.

-                     A safe environment far from trouble hotspots and also a business friendly atmosphere.

-                     A favourable exchange rate, which implies that organisers can go the extra mile when it comes to organise outstanding events and activities.

Most of the hotels have conference facilities. The Swami Vivekananda Conference Center in Pailles offers all the facilities needed for large international conferences

Integrated resort schemes (IRS) are available for rich foreigners who want to buy a property for not less than 500 000 dollars, on specific sites. They also offer accomodation for tourists. The first to open were Tamarina on the West coast and Anahita on the East coast. Others are opening soon. They are: Valriche in Bel-Ombre, Riverclub in Le Goulet and Sorep-Accor in Bel-Ombre. Flic-en-Flac, Roches-Noires, Albion and Black-River are other regions to host IRS projects.