Emirates, MTPA look to cash in on Middle East

Emirates and Mauritius tourism authorities recently concluded their series of road shows in Dubai. The road show held to promote the Indian Ocean across the Middle East covered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE. 

The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) is promoting Mauritius’ many attractions in the key Middle East markets. This follows the recent deployment of an Emirates A380 to Mauritius, enabling enhanced travel to the destination.

The Mauritius delegation was led by Hon Michael Sik Yuen, minister of tourism and leisure and Dr Karl Mootoosamy, director of the MTPA. Emirates’ senior representatives along with Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ senior vice president, commercial operations, Latin America, Central and Southern Africa.

Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ senior vice president, commercial operations, Latin America, Central and Southern Africa said: “We strongly believe in the potential of the destination and our regular increases in frequencies on this route, plus the introduction of a daily A380 service, demonstrate that our promotion strategy is the right one and is bringing concrete results.”

Dr Karl Mootoosamy further added: “The Middle East is a market of utmost importance for our tourism industry. We have doubled our efforts on the Middle East market and this year we are expecting an increase of 25% in terms of tourist arrivals. Our marketing campaigns will focus mainly on the island’s luxurious hotels, golf courses, spas and the main cultural attractions of the country.”

In December 2013, Emirates and MTPA inked a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), ensuring that the two organisations will continue to work closely together to promote inbound tourism from key markets.