Under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism Authority (TA) and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) are responsible for the application of regulations, in the case of the former, and of destination marketing, for the second. Interview with Arvind Bundhun, Director of the MTPA. Delphine Raimond
What about sustainable tourism in Mauritius?
In the last Budget, the government announced its vision of a certified green destination by 2030. The MTPA is using this as a selling point to orchestrate its campaigns. The “Feel our Island Energy” campaign, launched last year, shows a destination that goes beyond beaches to offer activities that are part of a nature project, cultural events, community involvement… All this is in line with the “Sustainable Island Mauritius” project piloted by the MTPA, which has put the horizon.eco platform on line, an essential tool for assessing the impact of operators’ sustainable measures and helping the destination to achieve certification. The concept of responsible tourism and sustainability in all sectors is not just a fad. There’s real thinking going on, in agriculture, technology… or at the level of financial institutions, which see it as an opportunity rather than a constraint.
How will these initiatives continue in 2024?
Promotion will be carried out in close collaboration with TA, which will organize more webinars – a practical, environmentally-friendly and cost-effective way of raising operators’ awareness of specific themes linked to the SDGs. Partnerships with industry and our international contacts will continue, to engage more operators and raise awareness of sustainable tourism best practices. The focus will continue to be on the Bel Ombre region, which is to some extent the pilot project for the green destination. This year, we are entering the final phase of certification, a process that will last 18 months.