After the successful launch of its new twice weekly direct Mauritius - Shanghai, China flights on 24 January 201, Air Mauritius (MK) has allured to the possible launch of flights to the Chinese capital, Beijing in May with flights to Russia also on the Mauritian national carrier's "To Do" list.
Speaking at the arrivals of the inaugural Mauritius - Shanghai flight in Shanghai, Michael Sik Yuen, the Mauritian Minister of Tourism said:"We've been working on this for six months, and it has been, above all, a team effort. All stakeholders, including Air Mauritius, hotel associations, the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) and tour operators have been meeting each other to discuss it. As such, we decided to launch an aggressive marketing campaign, " says Michael Sik Yuen who also announced a direct flight from Beijing in May.
Source [Le Mauricien]
For his part, Robert Desvaux, Chairman of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, said that it was now "Russia's turn for a direct flight in the near future." Mauritian tourism stats show that Russian tourists arrivals rose almost 60% in the period January - December 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, with EU countries all registering a decline.
The Shanghai flight comes as part of Air Mauritius' 7 Step Plan that involves refocussing the airline on emerging markets in Asia. According to Andre Viljoen, Air Mauritius' CEO, since MK's inaugural flight to Shanghai on 4 July 2011, Chinese tourist arrivals in Mauritius have shown robust growth, with 2012 registering a 38% jump alone.
Thanks to Zhang Xiaotian.
