Taxi driver Jorge Lepoigner says he can’t wait for tourists to return to Mauritius’s sun-soaked beaches. The Indian Ocean island nation opened its doors to international travel on Thursday after prolonged isolation coronavirus Universal pandemic.
But there’s a catch – only vaccinated vacationers with a negative PCR test will be allowed, and even then they will have to be confined to “resort bubbles” for a 14-day quarantine. Foreign currencies are coming. We don’t have the funds to move forward,” said Lepoigner, 55. “It’s a tragedy,” said the father of two.
The global coronavirus crisis has battered the economy in Mauritius, known for its pristine beaches, turquoise waters and coral reefs. Before the pandemic hit in March 2020, the tourism and hospitality industry accounted for about 24 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employed nearly a quarter of the workforce.
But Mauritius’s economy shrank by 15 per cent in the last financial year, so the country is desperate for tourists to return. “We are preparing for a gradual and sustained recovery of the region, targeting 650,000 tourists over the next 12 months,” Finance Minister Rengnaden Padayachi said in June.
He said the government would give 420 million Mauritian rupees (8.3 million euros, $9.7 million) to the tourism authority to promote the island in key markets such as China, Europe and South Africa. But with plans to fully reopen to international travelers only from October 1, hoteliers will have to wait for business to get back.
Le Maurician newspaper reported that 600 tourists were expected to land on three flights from Europe and Dubai on Thursday. They will be able to use their resort’s facilities and beach – but not the spa, and cannot explore the islands until after a two-week quarantine.
heavy economic blow
Gilbert Espitelier-Noel, CEO of New Mauritius Hotels, which owns several resorts, says he doesn’t expect a recovery until the last quarter of the year. The hotel group’s revenue fell to Rs 940 million in the nine months to March 2021, from Rs 7.6 billion a year ago.
“While we have taken steps to reduce expenses through pay cuts, voluntary retirement and keeping capital and operating expenses to a minimum, maintenance of hotels remains critical,” he said. Had applied for state-funded subsidy. to keep swimming.
The effects of the pandemic are not limited to the tourism sector, which is spreading to other sectors of the economy, including transportation, agriculture, retail and support services.
“Mauritius has not escaped this immediate and enormous economic shock and destruction, the effects of which extend beyond the region,” economist Rama Sithanen told AFP.
And Mauritius, like other countries around the world, is battling more virulent strains of the virus.
The nation of 1.2 million people has reported around 2,190 Covid infections and 20 deaths, although the figures may not accurately reflect the situation due to limited testing.
But the return of tourists to Lepoigner couldn’t be sooner.
“Even if there is a risk of contamination with the new version, either we die of hunger, or we die of Covid. I will choose Kovid because since last year 99.9 percent of Mauritius have survived the virus,” he said.
read all Breaking Newshandjob today’s fresh news and coronavirus news Here
.