The time has come for a change in air access policy? A master plan by the Netherlands Airport Consultants (Naco) and approved by Cabinet gives the recipe for a successful tourism industry. On the one hand, hotels should lower their prices to allow more tourists to visit the island. On the other, more airlines should be allowed to land in Mauritius inorder to fill these hotel rooms if Mauritius wants tourism to boost the economy.

Tourism seems the only way out of economic stagnation. At his last press conference, the PM, Paul Bérenger, announced that tourist arrivals in Mauritius had increased since September. Likewise, the Mauritius Commercial Bank?s economic forecast is positive concerning the tourism sector. These statistics seem promising but for how long will Mauritius continue to attract tourists if it does not change its marketing strategy?

The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority should change the way it sells the country but the authorities should also change their strategy for that matter. It can no longer be sold as a high-class exclusive destination.

Many other islands around the world offer the same advantages as Mauritius for a far better price. The slogan ?sea and sun and 5-star hotels? no longer attract tourists. Some tourists can afford the airfare to Mauritius but they want to stay in three-star hotels. An open sky policy could strike a balance by attracting more people. Many people who spend less are worth just as much as a few who spend a lot. Such a concept may work better than the outdated restrictive one.

This does not mean that backpack tourists will be welcome. If the authorities decide to ?open the skies? to other airlines, it will certainly not be at any price. They have always fought for controlled access to prevent Mauritius being overwhelmed by a mass of tourists and thus losing its cachet as a ?special destination?. The aim is to keep up a certain standard while allowing a greater number of tourists to visit the island.

Naco recommends that the State control air access by limiting the number of flights and monitoring the quality of service offered on flights to Mauritius. The national airline has never been in favour of an ?open sky policy?. Their flights are not always full and they are unwilling to lose customers to other airlines.

The aim, however, is not to take customers from the national airline but to bring more visitors to the country. Star Airlines or Corsair customers would probably be different from those who fly Air Mauritius. Those two French airlines may soon obtain landing rights as the French market provides the highest number of visitors. It is in our interest to allow them to bring in more tourists ? even if they are not all big spenders.

However, Naco is aware that all this can?t be done without Air Mauritius restructuring its activities. The national airline must rethink its strategy before any of these projects can materialise. What it can offer right now can never compete with the Internet or even other ?low-cost? airline offers.

It is high time for action for both the hotel sector and Air Mauritius. But who should start first? Naco considers that hotels should take the first step since they have had a better turnover than Air Mauritius recently. During the low season, neither planes nor hotels are full. As a result, hotels should reduce their prices to attract people. This would benefit the hotels and the airline. With such an effort from hotels, there would be no urgent need to ?open the sky?. This ?mini-reform? should be enough to make the low season less catastrophic.

Naco recommendations look clear. Mauritius can?t afford to do as it has always done if it want to ensure a sufficient number of visitors.