Mauritius to reopen in July for vaccinated travellers seeking a 'hotel holiday'

Holiday hotspot Mauritius is ready to reopen to vaccinated travellers.

The Indian Ocean destination will start to welcome tourists again under a phased reopening that will begin next month.

From July 15, fully vaccinated travellers can fly to Mauritius for what tourism authorities are calling a "hotel holiday".

Visitors will be welcome to travel from any destination, providing they have received the second dose of their Covid-19 vaccination at least three weeks before arriving in Mauritius.

Mauritian authorities are recognising all vaccines authorised by the World Health Organisation, including those for emergency use. This means tourists who have received the Pfizer-Biontech, Moderna, Astra-Zeneca, Jansen/Johnson&Johnson, Sinovac or Sinopharm jabs can visit.

Unvaccinated travellers cannot yet travel to Mauritius. Children under 18 do not need to be vaccinated to travel to the island nation, but will be required to undergo PCR testing.

Rules for vaccinated tourists arriving in Mauritius

Vaccinated travellers must stay in an approved hotel where they can use beaches, pools, gyms and golf courses. Xavier Coffic / Unsplash

All travellers must book a stay in an approved hotel, and must remain in their room until they receive negative results of an on-arrival PCR test, typically within six to 12 hours. This list of approved hotels will be available here from Sunday, June 20.

After this, tourists can use hotel facilities including beaches, swimming pools, water sports and golf courses. Spa facilities will remain closed during the first phase of reopening.

Travellers must take another PCR test on day five, six or seven, and anyone spending less than 14 days on the island won't be able to leave their hotel grounds, other than to travel back to the airport.

Those spending longer than two weeks in Mauritius can roam freely after proof of a negative test on day 14. There is no minimum stay requirement for tourists, but all visitors must have valid travel insurance that covers Covid-19 treatment for the duration of their trip.

Easing of restrictions in October

From October, Mauritius will ease restrictions allowing vaccinated tourists more freedom and welcoming unvaccinated travellers with hotel quarantine. Unsplash

From October onwards, Mauritius will enter the next phase of reopening. This will allow vaccinated tourists to travel to the island for an unrestricted holiday, with the ability to go out and explore without waiting 14 days.

Vaccinated travellers will be able to fly to Mauritius with minimal negative PCR tests; only one will be required which should be taken within 72 hours of departure. Unvaccinated travellers will be able to fly to Mauritius from October, but will have to undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine, with no access to leisure facilities during this time.

Air Mauritius flies from Dubai to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, with fares from Dh2,800 ($762). Emirates also flies weekly to the island nation. Mauritius is listed on Abu Dhabi's Green List, meaning travellers do not need to quarantine when returning to the UAE.

The Covid-19 situation in Mauritius

Mauritius has handled the Covid-19 pandemic well, and was the first country in Africa to contain the spread of the virus. Getty Images

Mauritius has received praise for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and was one of the first destinations in Africa to contain the spread.

The island nation was also one of the first in the world to announce it would offer travellers on long-stay visas free vaccinations.

At the time of writing, Mauritius has recorded 1,566 cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, and 18 deaths. The country is listed as the 193rd worst affected country in the world.

The phased reopening of the country's tourism is a carefully considered plan to bring travellers back to the island nation while ensuring the safety of Mauritians and visitors.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”