Tourist arrivals to Mauritius remain stable, with 1 109 118 arrivals between January and October this year, translating into a 4.2% increase compared with the same period last year. Europe topped the charts, with 635 695 visitors recorded year-to-date, as France and the UK continue to be the island’s largest source market.

France accounted for 23.1% of all arrivals to Mauritius in October, with 30 935 visitors recorded in October 2018 compared with 29 588 in October 2017, with 221 352 tourist arrivals recorded from January through to October this year, resulting in a 4.9% increase.

The UK accounted for 12.4% of all arrivals to Mauritius in October, with 16 571 visitors recorded, up from the 15 796 in October 2017. 120 694 UK visitors were recorded in Mauritius between January and October this year, translating to a 4.9% increase.

Réunion Island still accounts for a large share of Mauritius tourist arrivals, with 17 512 visitors recorded in October, up from the 16 656 in October 2017. Total tourist arrivals from Réunion sat at 117 607 year-to-date.

Arrivals from Germany, however, declined, from 13 142 in October 2017 to 12 941 for the same period this year. With this in mind, total arrivals between January and October increased from 91 585 in 2017, to 101 607 in 2018, year-to-date.

October arrivals by region:

• Europe: 85 253 (4.9% increase from October 2017 to October 2018).
• Africa: 30 332 (3.1% increase from October 2017 to October 2018).
• Asia: 14 292 (2.1% increase from October 2017 to October 2018).
• America: 2 195 (2.4% increase from October 2017 to October 2018).
• Oceania: 1 922 (1.4% increase from October 2017 to October 2018).

Other October arrivals from key source markets are as follows:

• South Africa: 8 835, up from 7 786 in 2017 (96 319 year-to-date).
• Switzerland: 6 447, up from 6 147 (31 344 year-to-date).
• China: 5 140, down from 6 112 in 2017 (6 0157 year-to-date).
• India: 4 469, down from 6 086 in 2017 (72 854 year-to-date).  
• Italy: 3 701, up from 3 181 in 2017 (28 077 year-to-date).
• Belgium: 1 907, up from 1 754 (12 364 year-to-date).
• Austria: 1 811, up from 1 485 (13 819 year-to-date).
• Australia: 1 795, down from 1 951 (16 761 year-to-date).
• Spain: 1 520, down from 1 603 (12 960 year-to-date).
• The Netherlands: 1 344, up from 1 108 (13 519 year-to-date).
• Sweden: 953, down from 1 240 (10 353 year-to-date).
• USA: 894, up from 688 in 2017 (8 119 year-to-date).