Since the reopening of Mauritius’ borders to fully vaccinated visitors on 1 October, the country has welcomed over 80,000 holidaymakers, owing to systematic travel, arrival, and follow-up protocol. Bookings through to year end are looking extremely promising, with a targeted average growth of 25% in arrivals.

In keeping with the country’s policy of prioritising the health of its population, the decision to reopen the borders and review Covid restrictions for both Mauritians and visitors was part a carefully considered incremental policy. The reopening was only made possible by the country’s exceptional vaccination programme.

The Mauritian health authorities are continuing to implement a wide-ranging COVID-19 response, and are presently prioritising the rollout of booster doses for those who are already double vaccinated. The vaccination of 15 to 18-year-olds is also well underway. Close to 85% of the adult population in Mauritius is already double vaccinated – one of the highest rates anywhere in the world.

The country has seen a recent increase in infection rates, which is unfortunately part of the new normal in most countries where restrictions are removed. In order to contain the spread, the government recently took the measure to temporarily close schools, and introduced some further sanitary measures, mainly to limit large gatherings. All this is done while further accelerating the booster vaccine programme and the vaccination drive across the youth population.

The health authorities remain confident in their ability to manage the recent increase in infection rates and will continue to follow world-leading scientific advice in this regard.

Minister of Tourism, Steven Obeegadoo said: “In Mauritius, we continue to prioritise the health of our population, and our staggered reopening was part of this carefully planned policy. Since the reopening of our borders on the 1st of October, we have safely welcomed over 80,000 travelers to date, and look forward to welcoming many more to our home. To that effect, next week Mauritius will be hosting a familiarisation trip, with tour operators from France, UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, India, Reunion, South Africa, and Kenya who will come to discover more of our beautiful country.”