Tourist attendance in good shape
Mauritius welcomed just over 892,000 tourists by air during the first nine months of 2023, figure up very sharply compared to 2022 (636 000), when the health crisis was still having its effects on international travel. However, attendance in the country has not returned to its pre-crisis level. (948,000 arrivals in 2019). The average length of stay is 11,4 days and changes little in the long term. The French in mainland France remain, from afar, the most numerous (210,000 arrivals in nine months), in front of the British (101 000), the Reunionese (94 500), the Germans (79 000), the South Africans (73 000) and the Indians (41 000).
$285 million in exports to the United States
Mauritius exported $285 million worth of goods to the United States in 2022, country with which its trade balance is clearly profitable since it imported only 101 million American goods over the same period. The sister island has benefited from the African Growth and Opportunity Act since 2000., which allows countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean to export a long list of products to the USA without quotas or customs duties. The next AGOA forum is scheduled for early November in Johannesburg. Mauritians are banking on a renewal of AGOA without modification, what should be the case.
Fall in sales of Phoenix Beverages in Reunion
Phoenix Beverages sales volume decreased by 4,4% in Reunion at the end of the 2022-2023 financial year, which ended on June 30. Thanks to inflation, the Reunion turnover of the IBL group company nevertheless increased slightly, at 32 million euros, and its profit did the same, at 2,8 million euros. During the past financial year, 16,3% of Phoenix Beverages Limited's turnover and 23% of its operating profit were generated by its activities outside Mauritius. The group's overall turnover reached 10,6 billion rupees in 2022-2023 (approximately 226 million euros), up 17,7% compared to 2022. Its profit after tax increases sharply, at 732 million rupees (environ 15,6 million rupees).
Ambitions in offshore wind power
Mauritius, with a particularly carbon-intensive electric mix, has set itself high objectives in terms of progress in renewable energies. The country notably launched a first study, financed by a United Nations fund, on the potential of offshore wind power. It is estimated at 50 megawatts by 2030, according to the first figures communicated by the government. It remains to find the investors to exploit it.
