Rejuvenating paradise: changing products, changing markets and changing visitor behaviour in Mauritius.

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter provides a historical overview of tourism development in Mauritius, with emphasis on economic sustainability driven by market concentration in the early stages of tourism development, market diversification in the later stages, increasing concern for environmental sustainability and tourist behaviour and satisfaction. The concept of Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) as a basis for understanding tourism development is also described, including a description of the evolution of the destination in terms of tourist numbers and tourism receipts by categorizing official statistics into three eras (1980-1989, 1990-1999 and 2000-2008), which incorporate the stages defined by TALC. It was shown that although Mauritius has had unprecedented economic success, tourism growth has slowed due to the current economic climate. The various strategies to rejuvenate island tourism seem to fit with current trends globally. However, the focus on economic sustainability, weak policies to support environmental sustainability and little concern for social sustainability have the potential to damage the tourism product. As a result, there is a need to review destination development plans and tourism policy, and these need to be integrated into quality-of-life objectives for the local population to ensure continued success of the island for tourism purposes.