The mission commenced with promotional roadshows in both Jeddah and Al Khobar, where a delegation of 10-companies and tourism stakeholders from Mauritius meet with over 70 leading Saudi tourism partners in each city, in order to create new travel packages to Mauritius specifically for Saudi travellers.

The next step was in the capital city as part of the four-day Riyadh Travel Fair event, which took place at Al Faisaliah Tower Hotel last month.

Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Anil Kumarsingh Gayan, commented, "The response from the Saudi travel agents and public has been overwhelmingly positive throughout this mission. It is clear that Mauritius can very quickly become one of the preferred destinations for Saudi tourists, as we offer a distinctive, luxurious, romantic, eco-friendly, family-focused experience and offering. Our rich natural wonders and exotic location, year-round schedule of festivals and special events, numerous kid-friendly eco-parks and beautifully designed hotels and resorts are just a few of the many reasons for Saudi families, honeymooners, adventurers and groups to come and visit Mauritius.”

The minister continued: “Our touristic offering has been extremely well received by the Saudi Travel agents that we have met. We expect that following this mission there will be many new Mauritius holiday packages and special offers made available to Saudi travellers, and that the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia to Mauritius will continue to increase significantly.”

From January to December 2017, Mauritius received a total of 5,142 Saudi tourists visiting the island nation, an increase of 62.5 per cent compared to the total number of Saudi visitors that visited in 2016, which in turn was a 10 per cent increase compared to the total number of Saudi visitors that visited in 2015. By conducting the tourism missions to Saudi Arabia, it is expected that this increase in Saudi visitation will continue well into 2018, especially with the launch of direct flights from Riyadh and Jeddah to Mauritius with Saudia Airlines. The opening of the Mauritius Embassy in Riyadh in 2017 is also expected to aid in the building of economic, tourism and cultural ties between the two nations.

In December 2017, Mauritius celebrated its 50th year of independence as well as the country’s 26th anniversary as a Republic.