Beachcomber lure

A leading Mauritius hotels group is luring Middle East visitors with its promise of shimmering lagoons and golden beaches in the heart of the Indian Ocean.

The island country, east of Madagascar in Africa, is today a world-renowned holiday and incentive destination because of the high quality of its hotel industry as well as the diversity and hospitality of its people.

The Beachcomber group owns and operates eight of Mauritius' most exclusive hotels along some of the most beautiful beaches - Le Royal Palm, Le Dinarobin, Le Paradis, Le Shandrani, Le Trou aux Biches, Le Victoria, Le Canonnier and Le Mauricia.

The hotel group offers 20 per cent of the number of rooms on the island - 1,775 - with a choice of 43 rooms categories and 23 restaurants.

With an annual turnover of 2.4 billion Mauritius rupees ($79 million), the group recorded an average occupancy of between 75 per cent and 80 per cent last year welcoming a total of 102,000 guests.

Beachcomber said Europe was its biggest market, generating 75 per cent of room nights in 2001.

The group says all its hotels reflect two of its main priorities:

To protect and enhance the immediate environment; and

To preserve that which is authentically Mauritian.

"The combination allows Beachcomber to develop not only a beach destination with the most beautiful beaches, gardens and unspoilt lagoons, but also to enable the visitor to discover the true nature of the island with all its cultural and traditional facets," the group said.

The group is also expanding its presence for the first time outside Mauritius with the building of a new property in another Indian Ocean holiday destination of Seychelles.

The Beachcomber is investing $33.5 million in the Sainte Anne which will offer 87 villas, two restaurant and a health and beauty centre. The resort, scheduled to open in October this year, is being built on a 200-hectare private island about four km away from the Seychelles capital of Mahe.

The group has also acquired another 25-hectare beach site in Praslin to establish a second 6-star resort in Seychelles.