Does Market Need Regular Direct Flights to Mauritius?

Adriana Smirnova, 13.02.2014 11:27

The meeting between Deputy Russian Minister of Transport Valery Okulov and Mauritian Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Russia Indira Sidaya was devoted to discussing agreements on the implementation of direct regular daily flights to Mauritius via Russian airlines

Press service of the Russian Ministry of Transport reports that yesterday a meeting between Deputy Russian Minister of Transport Valery Okulov and Mauritian Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Russia Indira Sidaya took place.

The meeting was devoted to establishing an air link between the two countries and to discussing agreements on the implementation of direct regular daily flights to Mauritius via Russian airlines.

According to ‘Spectrum’ travel company, right now there is no need for such frequent regular flights.

“Transaero used to organize flights for this destination twice a week, which proved to be unproductive since planes often flew half-empty. Now the airline only has flights on peak dates. This leads me to believe that daily flights will be superfluous. Also, there are convenient daily connecting flights via Emirates and Air France,” the company told TRN.

Spectrum representatives also said that the demand for Mauritius dwindled during the last year, which was caused by the economic situation in the country; even the New Year sales were quite sluggish.

According to the statistics of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA), in 2012 the country was visited by 19.4 thousand Russians, and the Russian market exhibited 59% growth as compared to 2011.

Mauritian experts believe that increasing Russian tourist flow to the country is possible through opening new de lux hotels and other, more budget-friendly accommodation facilities.