International Travel and Tourism, January to September 2019

Total passenger arrivals for the period January to September 2019 amounted to 1,330,211 representing an increase of 1.7% when compared to 1,307,370 passenger arrivals in the corresponding period of 2018. During the same period, 1,364,533 passenger departures were registered, showing an increase of 1.7% over the figure of 1,342,193 passenger departures in the first nine months of 2018.

Tourist arrivals for the first nine months of 2019 reached 973,642, lower by 0.1% compared to the first nine months of 2018. The performance of our top 10 markets for the period January to September 2019 was: France (+5.9%), United Kingdom (-3.9%), Reunion Island (-1.5%), Germany (+0.7%), Republic of South Africa (-2.6%), India (-16.6%), People’s Republic of China (-37.7%), Italy (+13.7%), Switzerland (+4.2%) and Saudi Arabia (+39.9%).

The average room occupancy rate for all licensed hotels in operation for the first nine months of 2019 was 70% (73% for first nine months of 2018) while bed occupancy rate averaged 62% (66% for first nine months of 2018).

Based on recent data on tourist arrivals and information gathered from stakeholders, the forecast of tourist arrivals for 2019 is revised downwards from 1,425,000 to 1,400,000, representing a zero growth over the figure of 1,399,408 in 2018. The forecasted number of tourist arrivals for the year 2020 is estimated at 1,435,000.

The Bank of Mauritius has revised the forecast of tourism earnings for the year 2019 downwards from Rs 64.7 billion to Rs 63.5 billion, representing a decrease of 0.8% compared to Rs 64.0 billion recorded in 2018. For the year 2020, tourism earnings are forecasted at Rs 65 billion by the Bank of Mauritius.