Recently returned from Mauritius, Rachel Collinsfound an island that prided itself on being safe for tourists – and not just in gated resorts – which makes this week's events all the more shocking
YOU CAN’T avoid Mauritius in the news this week. Everywhere you look – online, on TV, in the newspapers – the tiny Indian Ocean island is mentioned again and again and it’s for a terribly sad, tragic reason.
Personal safety may not consciously be to the fore of our minds when planning a holiday, but peace-of-mind and security do factor in our choice of destination. Some places are known for being high-risk; some are less perilous but require travellers to remain vigilant – to keep an eye on their wallet, to be wary of where they go at night and to count their change; others still are regarded as generally safe for visitors.
In the past, I have travelled throughout Asia and parts of the Indian Ocean and East Africa, often on my own. Each country and region brings with it a range of adventures, challenges, rewards and safety considerations. In some, I felt totally safe, in others, less so. In some places, the disparity between rich and poor makes tourists an obvious target for crime; in others, extreme poverty and high crime rates make everyone a target.
Visiting Mauritius for the first time just before Christmas, I found an island that really stood out from its neighbours. Uninhabited and covered in dense forest until the Dutch took possession in 1598, Mauritius was later ruled by the English and then the French, until independence in 1968.
It now has an incredibly diverse yet integrated population of African, Indian, Chinese and French descent. Racial integration has been trouble-free. Approximately 1.3 million Mauritians live on an island that is just 45km wide and 65km long and Hindus, Christians and Muslims coexist peacefully.
Since independence, the country has moved from a low-income agricultural economy reliant on sugar cane production to a middle-income, diverse economy, with free education and decent infrastructure and healthcare. It is this image of Mauritius as a stand-out social and economic success story in the region, along with its natural beauty with coral reefs and white sandy beaches, that has made it such a popular tourist destination. Today, the tourism industry accounts for almost 8 per cent of GDP.
More than 900,000 tourists visited the island last year, mostly from France, the UK, Germany, nearby French-run Reunion Island, and South Africa. Most tourists travel to Mauritius on package tours – around six Irish tour operators offer holidays to the island and Air Mauritius offer direct flights from a number of European hubs.
Known for its luxury resorts, the island has become an extremely popular honeymoon spot, although it is also attracts many European family and wedding groups. Mauritian resorts can take advantage of low labour costs to employ very large numbers of staff – one resort I stayed at had around 1,200 – so tourists can avail of incredibly attentive service, at levels unheard of in this part of the world.
Security is high at resorts – two that I visited required guests and staff to enter through guarded gates and security personnel were a common sight around the resorts and on beaches.
However, unlike many other resort destinations, Mauritius prides itself on also being safe outside the gates.
Tourists can travel around the island with ease; the botanic gardens at Pamplemousses and the bustling capital city of Port Louis are popular day trips from the coastal resorts. There is continued concentrated investment in tourism and plans are afoot to make the island duty-free, to increase its attraction as a shopping destination.
Crime against tourists is very rare in Mauritius – which makes this week’s events all the more shocking. Its reputation as a safe tourist destination made for a unique selling point and is one that the island will be keen to reinstate.