27 years of Mauritius News in the UK
Written by Editor Friday, 05 November 2010 22:39
News Articles - Current Affairs
The above advertisement appeared in the Issue No 1 of Mauritius News in November 1983. At that time the Mauritius Government badly needed to build up its foreign exchange reserve and Mauritian expatriates around the world were highly solicited to come home to spend. Even then, Overseas Mauritians and their families were staying in B&B and not with parents or with any other relatives, as is so erroneously believed by the authorities.
Mauritius News was a medium used by the Mauritius Government to reach the expatriates even the paper itself was just born. There was no Mauritius Government Tourist Office then, no Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority and even no Tourism Ministry. Our UK Mauritian community and Mauritius News had a role to play in the nascent tourist industry. When these institutions were created Mauritius News itself became obsolete for them because each one had their own kind of people to look after.
The impression we get is that the Mauritian authorities no longer consider the Mauritian expatriates as as a worthwhile element in their tourism strategy. On the other hand, the Mauritian authorities may be taking for granted that overseas Mauritians and their descendants will, as a matter of fact, go to Mauritius for their holidays, whether canvassed or not. They are totally wrong. All Mauritians find their ancestry from overseas, and not many find any affinity with the countries of their forefathers with an urge to visit those lands. The same is already applying to those of Mauritian origin born here in the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada and elsewhere.
Various Mauritian governments have been alienating this potential source of revenue in their thinking. The country will one day regret it. There are other destinations that are so invitingly appealing to the young people of Mauritian origin in their advertising campaigns. With good spending power the young element may not necessarily find the distant island a worthwhile holiday proposition, unless they be made aware constantly of its attraction to them.
One day the authorities may have to tell the offspring of expatriates:
