After several years of slow growth,
international tourism is on the rebound. The return of both consumer and
business confidence is bringing favourable conditions for both established and
emerging tourism markets. And Mauritius, battered to some extent by the
worldwide slump of 2001 and the impact of high oil prices on the airline
industry in 2003-2004, is coming out stronger by repositioning itself with a
new branding and a more aggressive air access and marketing strategy.
While the
long term prospects for the sector remain strong, it is emerging as one of the
most remarkable economic and social drivers - a mainstay of the country’s
growth and a crucial stopgap for absorbing the trade-dislocated unemployed
during our transitory adjustment phase to a new higher growth plateau.
And now that the sector has recovered and it
is back fast tracked up the ladder as a premier international tourist
destination, the inappropriate and somewhat nebulous, wake-up call for the
democratisation of the sector through greater equity participation does not
serve the cause of tourism. At this crucial juncture as we pool up our
resources to extricate a partially sheltered and uncompetitive economy from the
straitjackets of trade preferences and incentives, it robbed the economy of its
unique pace in the new elan of reform,
spontaneity and solidarity. More than empty slogans or the necessary
double-speak of an election campaign, it reflected attitudes designed to tap
into a stream of resentment than to produce an adequate remedy. It skirted the more fundamental debate about the
opportunities in the sector, the possibilities and
potential of the different market segments and the benefits accruing to
different sectors and groups and about developing equity in
tourism benefits-sharing .
Mauritius has been more successful, as compared
to its culturally richer and naturally-blessed competitors, not only in
attracting significant numbers of tourists but also in turning into a source of
wealth its Sun, Sea and Sand. And in
response to significant changes in the global flow of tourists with new trends
in travel patterns, behaviour of tourists, new motives of travel as well as
increased competition throughout the world, the sector gradually diversified
from predominantly beach-based tourism to business and conference tourism,
cultural tourism and ecotourism. An upliftment of the national product
portfolio- enhancing the authenticity of our destination by promoting our cultural
and historical heritage as well as local arts and handicraft; our historic and
heritage sites, museums, festivals, cuisines, local music, fine arts, and organising
special mega-events - was required to generate varied choices with added-value
for tourists and thus raise the expenditure per tourist. But the strategy continued emphasizing on a
quality product concentrating specifically on the up-market segment with high
levels of customer service. The strategy was restrictive ensuring enclave
tourism- hotels became resorts that limited their customers to the confines of
the immediate resort environment. Although tourism development results in the
provision of facilities and services, however, in cases of enclave tourism
these facilities are not accessible to local residents; most of the benefits do
not percolate down to the lower income groups, SMEs and low-skilled operators. This
type of tourism demand renders them uncompetitive as they are unable to
capitalize on the advantages that accrue from the economies of scale and lack
the requisite experience to run tourism business along modern management
principles. The real challenges for them are the difficulties in finding an
outlet for their products which fail to meet the quality standards of up-market
tourism. Again, their limited resource base makes this objective hard to
achieve. At the margin there are however some beneficiaries of the few
left-overs for some private owners of some up-market bungalows, restaurants, handicrafts
outlets.
Mauritius gave careful consideration to
the type of tourism it wants and has accordingly put in place a strategy to
achieve those aims. But there is a feeling now that this strategy is too
restrictive. Taking into consideration that
the changing nature of the tourism industry, the increasing number of air links,
the bulging affluence in emerging markets, and the general technological improvement in global
travel have changed the profile of
tourists as well as the demands on the destination, the sector and its
parameters need to be redefined. The challenge is to formulate the sector
policies that best reflect these changes and the new thinking that the benefits
from tourism activity should be spread more evenly throughout the society. The democratisation of the sector will mean
a policy orientation that does not focus uniquely on the up-market segment but
also on the low-to-middle segments (the lower willingness and ability to pay) which
by no means will affect the traditional upper segment of the tourism sector
given the specific profile and demand of different segments .
Sometime back, someone very knowledgeable
about the sector, in his very characteristic style, challenged us to think along these lines: “Pourquoi alors ne devrait-on pas laisser ces familles mauriciennes (…)
gagner plus du tourisme en les encadrant convenablement dans la
para-hôtellerie. Pourquoi devrait-on leur couper leur gagne-pain en bloquant la
venue de touristes sur de nouvelles compagnies aériennes qui joueront le jeu en
baissant le prix du billet et en ne bloquant pas de places pour les grands
hôtels. Les touristes de la para-hôtellerie ne volent pas les plages des
Mauriciens, mais les partagent. Ils dépensent leur argent directement avec les
Mauriciens. Grâce à leur ‘baseload’ beaucoup de nouvelles infrastructures et de
business (restaurant, bowling, centre d’équitation, plongée, magasins, location
de voitures, tour-opérateurs, guide, catering, femme de ménage, chauffeur etc.)
se développeront en annexe dont les Mauriciens aussi pourront jouir. ».
Kishore Beegoo dixit.
Kishore Beegoo dixit.
This
market segmentation offers us enormous possibilities to revitalize the
agricultural and rural economy, support the sustainable development of rural
areas, develop community-based tourism with a cultural content, agricultural
tourism eco lodge, family owned hotels, guest houses, eco accommodation,
traditional organic and authentic products and Mauritian cuisine, environmentally
friendly hotel, green holidays, sports clubs providing services. (The concept of Chowki ki Dhani in Rajasthan,
the Bushman Traditional Village and the Chamarel Integrated Development Project
was created as an innovative idea offering tourists a cultural experience while
simultaneously contributing to the economic development of the community.)
A new tourism is emerging, sustainable,
environmentally and socially responsible, and characterised by flexibility and
choice. A new type of tourist is driving it: more educated, experienced,
independent, conservation-minded, respectful of cultures, and insistent on
value for money. To remain competitive, tourism destinations and industry
players alike must adapt. For many, the challenge is to “reinvent” tourism.
The Tourism Forecasting Council (TFC) of Australia for e.g is
already gearing itself for the longer term.
·
In the longer term, it is expected
that there will be a yearning for village life within Australia, based on a
belief that society is losing its sense of community, resulting in a greater
focus on family, community values and stability.
·
A greater search for authentically
distinctive settings that provide a sense of place and activities that provide
a sense of belonging in response to globalisation and an increasing sense of
disconnection, dislocation and lack of control.
Indeed it takes courage to lift one’s head
up for a long, hard look over the horizon. It’s another approach altogether.
