Call to action: One destination one voice

Dear Partners,

CALL TO ACTION: ONE DESTINATION ONE VOICE

As the world treads upon unchartered territory with the COVID-19 pandemic still very much a live preoccupation, the travel industry is called upon to rise to the global challenge of reinventing itself. Over and above Covid-19, Mauritius has had to face an unprecedented environmental challenge following the running aground of MV Wakashio, although limited to the southern-eastern part of the island.  In the face of this double adversity, we believe that the public authorities and the industry players have a formidable opportunity to redefine our tourism model and build a more sustainable, agile and resilient industry TOGETHER. 

In the face of such exceptional circumstances, the MTPA has since March been working in close collaboration with all the stakeholders of the industry to define a recovery strategy together and pave the way for a reshape of our tourism model. Joint public-private initiatives have been under way ever since and have now reached cruising speed as we all acknowledge that concerting our efforts is the only way to get back on our feet as a destination and build resilience. 

The objective is clear: to collaboratively devise today the tourism of tomorrow for the benefit of the country and that of the 100,000 Mauritian families who live, directly or indirectly, from our industry. Below are just a few of our priorities to achieve this.

 

1. Welcoming travellers back in a COVID-19 secured context

Most of our key markets including France, Reunion, UK, Germany, Italy, India, and South Africa are still grappling with mounting contaminations and have been left with no choice but to adopt policies that restrict international travel.

Mauritius has been extremely successful at keeping Covid-19 at check.  While Government upholds the safety of our nationals and that of visitors as a topmost priority, we prepare to welcome back travellers in a phased and secure manner.

For now, the authorities have announced a phased resumption of international travel while maintaining highest standards of sanitary safety.

• More flights are being scheduled as from the month of October to offer travel solutions to nationals and residents as well as tourists coming to Mauritius for long stays. Strict protocols will have to be followed including a mandatory 14-day quarantine. More details are available on the MTPA website.
• Protocols following international best practice are being put in place at the airport, for airport transfers, at quarantine locations and thereafter at identified hotels and all other public places.
• We are closely monitoring source markets taking stock of how policies are evolving and impacting air travel.
• We are monitoring the economic situation and its impact on customer behaviour as well as demand for travel and the actions tourism operators are taking in our main markets.
• We are monitoring the competitive situation in the global tourism market and analysing how other destinations are reacting. We are also following the impact of their actions on tourist inflow as well as the sanitary situation.
• We are monitoring and adapting to the evolution of air connectivity with changes in airline operations.
• With demand not likely to return to pre-crisis levels within the foreseeable future, we remain alert and sensitive to the impeding issues of overcapacity in the hotel and the airline sector.

 

2. Digital Transformation

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is largely felt that the future of tourism lies in innovation and digital adaptation. Recognizing this, the Board of the MTPA has approved a digital transformation plan aligned to new market realities.

• Our website and mobile application are being revamped and will be launched as from the end of this month under the name, ‘MyMauritius’.
• A granular ‘Tourism Data Warehouse’ is being set up to support fact-based decision making.
• We are supporting the launch of a new non-profit e-commerce platform, the ‘Mauritius Digital Tourism Marketplace’  for the promotion and sales of Mauritian hospitality products.

 

3. Restore confidence in Mauritius as a destination

Tourism partners from both the public and private sector have also been working relentlessly on a programme to boost the image of the destination. We will be highlighting brand values that have emerged strongly during the past few months as we all came together to overcome the various challenges that came our way. Through your respective communications networks, you are being invited to showcase our island as a world-class tourist destination buzzing with life while ensuring a smooth transition to our planned promotional campaigns to be deployed when the timing is right. We have adopted a phased approach that takes into consideration global travel trends as the Covid-19 situation continues to unfold.

 

Our Call To Action: Standing together

All actions that have been initiated will converge towards an ambitious framework to transform the destination and comfort our position as a world-class tourist destination. We have been working closely in the past weeks to define a unique programme to encourage ‘long-stay’ tourism and will further engage with you all in the coming weeks on how to reengineer our brand and product to match new market realities. 

Successfully restarting our industry will depend on your participation and commitment whether you are from the public or private sector, whatever the size or nature of your business. The theme for our call to action is ‘One Destination One voice’ as we believe that speaking with one voice, in the superior interest of the Destination, is a critical success factor for our mission.

You will therefore be invited to actively participate in the coming campaign by engaging side by side and transmitting massively through your respective communication channels.

We are confident that our unflinching solidarity will once again enable us to successfully overcome adversity. Let us stand together.

 

Nilen Vencadasamy

Chairman, MTPA