Tourism: Duval Proposes Moratorium on Hotels Construction

The statistics of tourist arrivals for the first quarter of 2013 show a growth of 1.5%. Which is relatively low compared to other countries in the region, including the Maldives and the Seychelles, which grew by 14.6% and 19.2% respectively.

Just for the month of March 2013, these two destinations have registered a respective 30.1% and 20%. The Maldives has 27 000 arrivals more than Maurice for the first quarter of 2013, unlike last year.

For the Minister of Finance, this situation reflect on the construction of hotels. "I propose to introduce a moratorium on the construction of new hotels because the growth is rather stagnant. The more the number of rooms increases, competition increases. He did not let that affect the quality of our services. We must preserve the reputation of the destination. "

Since 2007, the number of rooms has increased steadily from 13 900 to 16 900 excluding other projects. In return, tourist arrivals have continued to decline, especially for the European market. Markets have experienced stronger growth in the first quarter of 2013 are Great Britain (28.9%), South Africa (13%), Germany (9.9%), Switzerland (52 %) and China (68.6%). France, Italy and Russia accused declines of 1.9%, 20.2% and 49.4% respectively.

Reacting to the proposal of the Minister of Finance, Jocelyn Kwok, Director of AHRIM, suggests that this idea had already been issued during pre-budget consultations last year. "We support all decisions that could provide solutions to the current situation. There is no question of penalizing contractors, but it should improve the situation. If the Minister of Lands intends to implement the moratorium, we will appreciate this approach. "