AGENTS say soaring costs for
Mauritius are leading to low
conversions, accommodation
down-selling or off-selling to
Maldives, which is now more
accessible and affordable for
South Africans.
In a recent poll on eTNW,
31% of agents reported a
10-20% increase in Mauritius
accommodation prices while
23% of agents estimated
the increases to be closer to
20-30%.
Agents also advised that
the October 1 Air Mauritius
fare increase would push
up prices further. This has
combined with a separate YQ
tax increase and an overall tax
increase caused by the ROE,
which means that taxes have
increased by over R400 per
ticket, say agents.
However, Carla da Silva,
regional manager: Southern
Africa and Latin America
for Air Mauritius, said that
while airport taxes and land
accommodation costs did
fluctuate with the rate of
exchange, market fares had
increased by only R220 for
the first time in two years.
Joanne Adolphe, ceo
of Thompsons Holidays,
said both airline and hotel
components had shown
notable increases this year.
She said while South Africans
used to receive discounted
rates, the recent increase
in visitors from Europe had
resulted in hotel rate parity
across all markets, increasing
prices for South Africans.
Joanne pointed out that
Mauritius airfares were now
often similarly priced to
Phuket, Bali and Maldives
fares and added that,
considering Mauritius was only
four hours from Johannesburg,
airlines should relook at the
competitiveness of pricing
models in this market.
“We have had to decrease
our margin for Mauritius by
5% as the cost of a fivestar
package is now very
comparable to a similar
Maldives package,” said
Joanne.
Ramesh Jeenarain, md
of World Leisure Holidays,
said the operator had also
decreased its margins to
Mauritius and were giving
away higher commissions
to keep Mauritian demand
stimulated.
While he said there wasn’t
much difference in pricing,
he said Mauritius was fairly
monopolised by two airlines
and that if other carriers
operated the route more
regularly, prices would become
more competitive.
Maria Pereira, leisure
manager at XL Sandown
Travel, said she had noted
that clients’ perception of
what Mauritius cost was much
lower than reality. This was
leading to low conversions or
accommodation down-selling.
Daphne Osborne, director
of Starlight Holidays, said
quotes to the Maldives and
Mauritius were definitely being
compared, adding that the
resorts in the south of the
Maldives were offering good
rates to stimulate demand.
