Anchored off the East coast of Africa, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius is famous for a ghost … the ghost of the dodo, the flightless bird, Raphus Cucullates, which was totally wiped out by hunters and rats during the mid to late-17th century.
In fact, in other decades one might have used the now common phrase ‘Dead as a Dodo’ to describe the tourism potential of a former French and British colony, located more than 14 hours’ flight from Europe and around six hours from the Gulf region.
But fortunately successive governments recognised the touristic possibilities of Mauritius and the island’s merchants have built a string of five-star hotels along the coral-clad lagoons which ring the island.
Tourism, with the efforts of hotels and airlines such as the country’s own Air Mauritius, complements the sugar cane and textile industries to provide jobs for the inhabitants.
An example of the entrepreneurship of the merchants was the purchase in 1993 of two rare Mauritius stamps, the two-penny blue and the one-penny orange-red, two of the oldest and most valuable postage stamps in. the world. They were the first stamps of the British Empire outside Great Britain.
The stamps are now housed in a specially-built museum called The Blue Penny Museum, located on the Caudan waterfront in Port Louis, the capital. The museum has become a very popular tourist attraction, enabling visitors to study the early history of the postal system.
The stamps were bought for $2.2 million by 16 Mauritian companies in 1993 but are now worth about $4 million. So, in addition to being a much-visited tourist attraction, they are also a very good investment for the island.
Today, like most tourist destinations, the economic recession has hit Mauritius with many hotels in the summer attracting less than 50 per cent of their usual inflow of visitors.
But, what was noticeable on our recent visit to Mauritius, was that the hotels had not downgraded their service or let staff go.
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Mauritius is a perfect example of a true tropical paradise. Exotic birds, clear blue waters filled with colourful fish to attract snorkellers and scuba divers, swaying coconut palms, long white and uncrowded beaches lapped by the warm Indian Ocean and friendly, gentle and multi-lingual inhabitants. Most Mauritians speak English, French and their own language Creole.
We started our day in the gazebo outside the villa by sharing our breakfast with red-eared, punk-haired Sarin birds, which will eat croissants from your hand.
We ended the day by watching a red sun kiss the horizon to the jolly rhythms of a local jazz band.
The Dodo may be dead, but Mauritius has other exclusive fauna and flora such as the giant water lilies at Pamplemousse Botanical Gardens, the large Java deer, the pink pigeon, the Mauritius parakeet, probably the world’s biggest selection of insects and definitely the world’s largest captive breeding reserve for the Aldabra tortoise.
Mauritius, like several Gulf countries, has created its unique tourist attractions such as the White Sand Group’s Blue Safari Submarine and the two-person underwater scooters as well as the unique air-filled helmet, which allows you to walk on the seabed.
Quad biking and trailing and the zip-line, which takes you swiftly at 30-m height across lush valleys, are other ‘must dos’ to add to the sailing, dolphin watching and catamaran cruising.
Recession-wise, the islanders are hoping that the upcoming FIFA World Cup competitions in June and July will have a spill-over effect and visitors will stop over in Mauritius on the way to or from the matches.
And the country’s tourism sector is hoping its neighbours will help to fill the gap left by the international tourism downturn with South Africa being a natural choice for its promotional efforts.
Mauritius has to rely on its own airline and other carriers serving the island, but needs an international airport to put it on the world map for vacationers. Like the Gulf, Mauritius knows it has to invest heavily in marketing in the next 12 months to ensure tourism will not go the way of the Dodo.