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Section 02

Who actually goes there

Why 5–7% explains the bathrooms, the buffets and the booking window.

The market

One statistic explains almost everything

Mauritius receives roughly 1.1 million tourists a year. Indian travellers are only about 5–7% of that. The other 93–95% — and this has been true for 35 to 40 years — come from the UK, France, Germany and Réunion Island.

~1.1 MILLION

Arrivals a year

5–7%

Share from India

35–40 YEARS

How long the European markets have dominated

What that means on the ground

Bathroom fittings

Hotels were built and refurbished for European guests. Only a handful of properties have jet sprays as standard. Most have toilet paper; some have bidets. Many keep two to five “jet rooms” that can be requested — but they book out well in advance, so this is a request, never a guarantee.

Buffet design

The base product is continental. Indian items exist, but as an addition to a European buffet, not as the buffet.

No India-only properties

Every hotel runs a mixed-market model. There is no resort catering exclusively to the Indian guest, and no seller should imply otherwise.

Booking rhythm

Traditional markets book roughly six months out. The Indian market books one to two months before travel. This mismatch causes most “no availability” conversations.

Say this before they fly, not after

If a guest’s non-negotiable is a jet spray in the bathroom, raise it at the point of sale and put the request in writing to the DMC early. Discovering it on arrival turns a good holiday into a complaint.

The genuinely good news

Indian food is not a problem. Most resorts have an Indian chef. Jain and other special meal requirements can be arranged at no additional cost if flagged in advance — guest relations introduces the guest to the chef on arrival and the kitchen cooks to requirement for the stay. A small number of properties do not have an Indian chef, so confirm property by property.

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