Construction and Tourism Declining

Appears before the global crisis, the construction sector was on the rise with an increase of 11% favored by many residential and commercial real estate projects. Large investments have also come from the public sector in infrastructure. With several projects already completed, this area will not experience growth this year. Forecasts of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) confirm the decline, noting that it is "the only sector with a potential negative growth." "It seems that the peak has been reached and the landing will be difficult. The downward trend will continue given the negative potential, contributing to the erosion of the sector's contribution to GDP, "said the ICC. Analysts of the Mauritius Commercial Bank forecast a contraction of this sector for the third consecutive year. In the last 'MCB Focus', they believe that this sector will be affected by the lack of private sector investment, mainly due to economic uncertainty and the decline in government investment.

Tourism, meanwhile, is likely to suffer the vagaries of competition more pronounced in the region, while already under the waves of the crisis in Europe, our main source market. Already, the growth in some islands of the region is much more important.

Threatening competition from countries in the region

The fall in tourist arrivals from traditional markets is by no means a new one. Moreover, the figures arrived in the Nordic countries show a continued decline is offset by small increases in Asian markets. But the area itself is competitive with the mobility of tourists from emerging markets. The 54th 'MCB Focus' notes that the performance of the sector is anchored on "fragile foundations" and high competitive pressure from countries in the region.

Analysts' forecasts of firm Anglo Mauritius also highlight the increased competition on the regional front, especially from the Seychelles, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, the markets recording growth rates superior to ours. Competitiveness of the tourism industry in the region indicates that Maurice trouble following the other islands. With an increase of 1.5% for the period January-March 2013, the growth of the Seychelles, the Maldives and Sri Lanka is much better with an increase of 19.2%, 14.6% and 13.4% respectively .

The ICC, in its economic report also highlights the fragility of the sector. "It is one of the sectors most vulnerable to the continuing crisis in Europe, its main market, and this has had a significant impact on the growth potential of this sector," said do we. The significant drop in the performance of this sector is evident. From 2006 to 2008, the average growth potential for the sector was 7.4% but fell to an average of 3% for the period 2009-2012. Estimates of the ICC expect a marginal growth of 1.7% this year.

As operators of the tourism industry in Mauritius already complain about the gloom that has invaded the euro area, the increase in the price of the ticket is added to the trouble experienced by the economic mainstay for some time. The financial results of three of the largest operators of the Mauritian tourism show the effect of the economic crisis in Europe and the rise in the price of the ticket on the performance of institutions.