IFTM Top Resa fair in Paris: Mauritian tourism partners to conquer French travellers
Paris, Friday, October 8, 2021 - A delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Steven Obeegadoo, and including the MTPA as well as several actors of the Mauritian tourism family, is currently participating in the IFTM Top Resa Fair in Paris, which takes place from 5 to 8 October. This event, created in 1979, is a multi-target fair covering all types of travel: leisure, business, MICE & events, group and digital.
Visitors to this B2B tourism trade show - leisure, business, group, and MICE professionals - are mainly travel professionals such as purchasing decision makers and production managers of tour operators, travel agencies and media.
"After this long physical absence imposed by Covid-19, it was crucial for MTPA to be present at this show which has always been to be present at this show which has always been a must for the travel market in France. And this even if it is true that with the digitalization of the MTPA, the destination Mauritius has remained very present on the different markets since the beginning of the pandemic. These last two days have allowed us to revive our networks and to meet new operators, in addition to giving precise information directly to tour operators here, who send us more than 60% of our French visitors," explains Arvind Bundhun, Director of the MTPA, also present at the show. And he adds that the destination seems well on its way to winning back French travelers, with 35,000 seats offered for the month of October, spread over 14 weekly flights from France. The French travelers have already increased considerably, with a 48% share of total bookings for Mauritius in the past week.
This year, on the occasion of the fair, the MTPA joined SETO, the French tour operators' union, during the press conference of the latter, which took place one day before the opening of the exhibition. Thus, Mauritius was the only country, apart from France, represented at this meeting with many representatives of the French media.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Steven Obeegadoo, was invited by the Seto leaders to speak at this press conference. The Minister spoke about the vaccination campaign in Mauritius and presented the modalities for the reopening and the secure reception of travelers in Mauritius. He also gave a complete picture of what has been done locally to support operators and help them reinvent themselves to be ready to welcome visitors in the best possible conditions.
During the press conference, the president of SETO, René-Marc Chikli said that according to a study conducted by the union, the price is not necessarily the determining factor in travelers' choices. The biggest inhibitor for the traveler, according to SETO, has been the "stop-go" resumption of destinations that opened quickly and then had to close their borders later. Mauritius, with its cautious approach to reopening in several stages to the full reopening for vaccinated visitors on October 1, is therefore well positioned to attract French travelers. According to this study, they are eager to leave to destinations such as ours, which are further away than neighboring European countries.
The figures shared by SETO executives effectively demonstrate that the trend for the European winter of 2021/2022 will bring a positive evolution for long-haul destinations, of which Mauritius is one. Moreover, the first trends revealed by SETO show that Mauritius is positioned at a higher level of booking compared to our neighbors in the Indian Ocean, including Maldives and the Seychelles. The president of the tour operators' union also made a special appeal to the French media to help promote Mauritius, which has always had a special place in the hearts of travelers in the hemicycle.
Highly colorful and including, among others, digitalized panels showing various facets of the destination, the Mauritian stand has not been empty for 2 days. Enriched by the presence of many local operators and representatives of hotel groups present in Mauritius and Rodrigues, the stand has been attracting a large number of visitors since the opening of the show, proof of interest of this traditional and very important market for the country.
For your information, the IFTM Top Résa show brings together this year in Paris 200 destinations and over 34,000 tourism professionals. The numerous events, conferences and parties organized during the show allow an entire profession to discover new trends, acquire expertise on current issues, but also to discuss the challenges and the future of the tourism industry.
