LUXURY HOLIDAYS: Indian Ocean
of value of bookings. Top sellers are the fi ve-star resorts offering good added value, family offers or all-inclusive options, such as the Residence Mauritius, Heritage Awali and Shandrani Resort. “We’ve also seen an increase in demand and bookings for the boutique-style hotels including 20 Degrees Sud and the relatively new Angsana Balaclava,” adds Thomas. “Maldives has dropped a bit since
last year, but due to the exchange rate of US$ the prices are relatively high and despite many tactical offers on the market we’ve found clients switching to other destinations such as Thailand, Bali and Mauritius offering good value. “Seychelles enquiries have also
picked up this year with island- hopping becoming more popular. Two-centre holidays with Abu Dhabi and Dubai have also seen an increase with the excellent frequency of fl ights between UAE and Mahe,” she adds. Jennifer Atkinson, CEO, ITC Classics
(
itcclassics.co.uk) says, “The Maldives and Seychelles are the strongest-selling destinations at the moment. “People want a bespoke and
completely different element to their holiday, whether it be learning to DJ at NIYAMA or staying on a catamaran at the Four Seasons.” Sovereign Luxury Travel (sovereign.
com) features both Mauritius and the Maldives and notes a 40% increase
year on year, partly due to the operator increasing its focus on long- haul luxury over the past six months. Michael Creighton, Product Manager, African and Mauritius, Travel 2 says, “Travel 2’s Simply Luxury brochure (
travel2.com) is in its second year and is performing very well, because of its strong focus on value for money and fantastic service. The Indian Ocean is an ideal destination for families, couples and honeymooners s it has a range of luxury hotels to suit all types of clients. “Travel 2 recommends upselling to
a villa with a pool or a beachfront location that offers total privacy.” Resorts are thinking of new ways
to heighten the luxury experience and increase revenue and agents can benefi t by selling extras up front. For example, Conrad Maldives
Rangali Island (
conradmaldives.com) has a wine cellar with over 20,000 bottles and has created packages such as ‘Bubbles on the Beach’ from £508 where guests are taken to a private island for a luxury champagne picnic. The Oberoi Mauritius (oberoihotels.
com) has a range of ‘Unforgettable Experiences’ from around £297 per night in a luxury pavilion such as a new ‘Touching Senses’ programme which offers activities such as stargazing under a clear Mauritian sky with a trained astronomer.
“Romantic Mauritius is popular for dream weddings, honeymoons and renewal of vows ceremonies”
REBECCA CREASEY, SALES ACCOUNT MANAGER MARITIM HOTEL MAURITIUS
COOKING WITH A MASTER BY NICKI GRIHAULT
“This March I attended the first exclusive three-day cooking school with Shelina Permalloo, winner of Masterchef 2012, at the five star Maradiva Villas Resort & Spa on the island’s west coast. First up was street food at Port Louis’ colourful covered market – fresh pineapple with tamarind and chilli and dhal puri (pancake stuffed with split peas and spices) and Creole specialties at Bon Marmite, one of the island’s oldest restaurants. The next day, we made sausage rougaille (spicy Creole tomato sauce) at a cooking station in the organic kitchen garden. We were soon grinding spices for satini coco (coconut chutney) on a ‘curry rock’ like the locals and on the third day prepared red snapper in a banana leaf, barbecued on the beach. Our last taste of Mauritius was a sweet one: coconut tapioca. Shelina’s next cooking school at Maradiva runs October 9–11 2013.”
Left: The pool at St Regis, Mauritius
www.sellinglonghaul.com
May 2013 27
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