FEATURE INDIAN OCEAN
on 73 Newman Street, in London, and have a UK team of all-Seychelles staff. This will provide travel agents with a wealth of local knowledge."
ELAINE BARRETT TRADE DIRECTOR, MAURITIUS TOURISM PROMOTION AUTHORITY (MPTA) “The month of June saw an increase of 16 percent for UK arrivals to Mauritius, compared to the previous
year. We will look to build on this during the next 12 months, highlighting the range of deals and value offers to be had. Mauritius continues to be perceived as expensive so it’s important for us to reiterate the latest offers, and value from the trade to the consumer, whilst not compromising on the premium associations the island has. The honeymoon market remains buoyant with bookings up to a year prior to arrival. A nationwide travel trade booking incentive to drive sales to Mauritius in 2010 was launched in April by MPTA to include a micro-site produced for agents."
SANJIKA PERERA UK MANAGER SRI LANKA TOURIST BOARD “Sri Lanka has turned a new leaf. The UK Foreign office has declared the entire island safe to explore
and during the recent past tourism to Sri Lanka has bloomed. There are a lot of new properties that are opening and the older ones have upgraded their service offering. We have declared year 2011 as ‘Visit Sri Lanka Year', and the government and the tourism authorities are improving the infrastructure to cater to the increase in demand. The most recent inclusion of three additional UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the central hills have
added to the diversity Sri Lanka has to offer. Our online training portal www.
srilanka.travel/specialists would spearhead our trade and agents initiatives with a lot of incentives and exciting programmes to learn about new developments in Sri Lanka.”
WHE R E TO BOOK IT MAURITIUS - HAYES & JARVIS
0871 664 0246
www.hayesandjarvis.com Seven nights’ half-board at The Grand Mauritian starts at £1,699pp, with flights and transfers.
SEYCHELLES - ELITE VACATIONS
01707-371000
www.seychelleselite.co.uk Seven nights at the four-star L’Archipel Hotel on Praslin is from £1,498pp, half- board, in a deluxe room with flights, transfers and airport lounge pass.
MALDIVES - VIRGIN HOLIDAYS
0844 557 3982
www.hols4agents.co.uk Seven nights at the 4V Bandos Island Resort, with breakfast, costs from £1,129pp with flights and transfers. The V Room at Gatwick Airport costs £17 for adults and £10 for kids (2-11 years).
SRI LANKA - KUONI
01306-747008
www.kuoni.co.uk Eight nights at the four-star Kani Lanka Resort & Spa in a standard room, half- board with return flights and transfers, is from £699pp.
ROOM R E PORT Mauritius sees the opening of Long Beach (
sunresorts.com) in December aiming to bring carefree ‘piazza’ style
living to the east coast. Beachcomber’s Trou aux Biches (beachcomber-hotels. com) reopens in November after a complete rebuild. St Regis (
starwoodhotels.com) is due
to open in 2011 on the coveted Le Morne beachfront. Angsana Balaclava (
angsana.com) is a boutique all villa property opening in spring 2011. Over in the Seychelles, the big new opening is Raffles Praslin (
raffles.com) opens in January 2011 with 86 spacious villas and an extensive spa.
WHO F LIES THERE Mauritius - Air Mauritius has direct four flights per week increasing to five flights per week over the Xmas and Easter periods. British Airways flies direct to Mauritius three times a week. Emirates flies via Dubai.
Seychelles - Air Seychelles is again considering a non-stop flight into the Seychelles although this is still to be finalised. Currently, the national carrier operates three direct flights from the UK per week with a short stop in Italy. Two flights operate from Heathrow on Fridays and Sundays and one from Gatwick on Tuesdays. Emirates flies via Dubai. Qatar Airways flies via Doha.
Maldives - British Airways' flies direct from London Gatwick three times a week (Fri, Sun and Tues). Emirates via Dubai, Oman Air via Muscat and Qatar Airways via Doha.
Sri Lanka - Sri Lankan Airlines flies direct from the UK daily, with two flights most days. Other airline offering indirect flights include Oman Air via Muscat, Ethiad via Abu Dhabi, Emirates via Dubai and Qatar Airways via Doha.•
back in
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS THE INDIAN OCEAN
LONG - HAU L S E L L I NG
The two striking aspects about holidays to the
Indian Ocean 20 years ago is the high price and the lack of choice. Back in 1990, Beachcomber
Tours was offering a 12-night holiday at Trou aux Biches for around £1,331pp. Considering inflation, the Indian Ocean is much more affordable these days. Long-serving members of the
team at Cosmos say the Maldives was really only in reach of the very rich, but with the opening up of a lot more three- and four-star resorts it's become more affordable along with charter flights and all-inclusives. Many resorts 20 years ago refused to offer anything more than half- board and many only b&b. One&Only Le Saint Géran (
oneandonlyresorts.com) celebrates its 35th anniversary and is testament to the longevity of Mauritius’ high standard of accommodation. According to the Seychelles
Tourist Office, travel has evolved since the 1990 with demand for interesting travel and customized experiences. The growth in the green trend has lent itself to destinations like the Seychelles.
199 B A C K Cosmos - Maldives autumn savers 4D Bandos Island Resort
£879 per person, 7 nights (includes free board upgrade from BB to HB and 2 free nights)
Reservations & Admin
0871 423 8518
The UK’s No 1 Independent Tour Operator Looking forward to working with you
A B T A N o .V0531 COSMOS
HOLIDAYS PLC COSMOS HOLIDAYS PLC holidays
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