Geographic Description
Mauritius is an island nation located off the eastern coast of Madagascar known for its beautiful beaches and underwater views. Mauritius has over 700 species of indigenous plants, however many of these are threatened due to loss of habitat (http://www.mauritius.net/what_to_see/nature.php).
Tourism Policy Environment
Tourism in Mauritius is guided by a few key policies, namely the:
- Tourism Authority Act, 2006 (amended in 2008);
- Tourism Employees Welfare Fund Act, 2002; and the
- Finance and Audit Act, 2006.
The Tourism Authority Act 2006 (amended in 2008) is the general law regulating the tourism sector, particularly in reference to the National Tourism Authority, and establishing requirements e.g. licensing.
The Tourism Employees Welfare Fund Act establishes and carries out various activities that are desirable and promote the welfare of employees of tourism enterprises and their families.
The Finance and Audit Act establishes a fund that finances tourism infrastructure, social amenities for local inhabitants of tourism areas and develops and maintains tourism projects relating to eco-tourism and cultural-tourism.
Overall, the general policy in Mauritius is to favour “selective, up-market, quality tourism” (Government of Mauritius, 2009).
Certification / Award Programmes
Mauritius is the site of three Green Globe certified products in Southern Africa (there are also Green Globe affiliated members in Tanzania and South Africa). The Green Globe initiative (www.greenglobe.org) provides a set of standards under which participants can be benchmarked and certified according to their environmental and social performance.
TFCAs
NA
