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Technology

Coconut Confusion Reveals Consumer Conundrum

Coconut oil production may be more damaging to the environment than palm oil, researchers say.

The issue of tropical forests being cut down for palm oil production is widely known, but the new study says coconut oil threatens more species per litre produced than palm or other vegetable oils.

The researchers use this example to highlight the difficulties of “conscientious consumption.”

They say consumers lack objective guidance on the environmental impacts of crop production, undermining their ability to make informed decisions.

“The outcome of our study came as a surprise,” said lead author Erik Meijaard, of Borneo Futures in Brunei Darussalam.

“Many consumers in the West think of coconut products as both healthy and their production relatively harmless for the environment.

“As it turns out, we need to think again about the impacts of coconut.”

Co-author Dr Jesse F. Abrams, of the Global Systems Institute and the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, both at the University of Exeter, added: “Consumers, especially those striving to be more responsible in their consumption, rely heavily on information that they receive from the media, which is often supplied by those with vested interests.

“When making decisions about what we buy, we need to be aware of our cultural biases and examine the problem from a lens that is not only based on Western perspectives to avoid dangerous double standards.”

According to the study, production of coconut oil affects 20 threatened species (including plants and animals) per million litres of oil produced. This is higher than other oil-producing crops, such as palm (3.8 species per million litres), olive (4.1) and soybean (1.3).

The study shows that the main reason for the high number of species affected by coconut is that the crop is mostly grown on tropical islands with rich diversity and many unique species.

Impact on threatened species is usually measured by the number of species affected per square hectare of land used — and by this measure palm’s impact is worse than coconut.

Coconut cultivation is thought to have contributed to the extinction of a number of island species, including the Marianne white-eye in the Seychelles and the Solomon Islands’ Ontong Java flying fox.

Species not yet extinct but threatened by coconut production include the Balabac mouse-deer, which lives on three Philippine islands, and the Sangihe tarsier, a primate living on the Indonesian island of Sangihe.

The authors, however, emphasize that the objective of the study is not to add coconut to the growing list of products that consumers should avoid.

Indeed, they note that olives and other crops raise also raise concerns.

Co-author Professor Douglas Sheil, of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, said: “Consumers need to realise that all our agricultural commodities, and not just tropical crops, have negative environmental impacts.

“We need to provide consumers with sound information to guide their choices.”

The researchers argue for new, transparent information to help consumers.

“Informed consumer choices require measures and standards that are equally applicable to producers in Borneo, Belgium and Barbados,” they write.

“While perfection may be unattainable, improvements over current practices are not.”

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Exeter. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Erik Meijaard, Jesse F. Abrams, Diego Juffe-Bignoli, Maria Voigt, Douglas Sheil. Coconut oil, conservation and the conscientious consumer. Current Biology, 2020; 30 (13): R757 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.059

Categories
CDA Long Title Post

Volunteer Community Projects

Volunteer Abroad
Why are community service volunteers needed?
It’s a well-known fact that the resources in the world are unfairly distributed and there are regions who can’t rely on the excellent public services, education, medical care and social security most western citizens are entitled to. Less developed regions simply don’t have access to these services and rely on external projects and aid programs for support.

Research shows that the industrialized nations of Europe, Japan and North America consume about 80% of the world’s resources which leaves very little to regions in Africa, Asia and South America.

Community service projects have limited resources and rely heavily on contributions and volunteers to fulfill their purpose, especially in the rural areas of Africa and South America. By volunteering your time, you’ll be helping out these projects in a sustainable way and making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

You will also be able to combine this with travel within the region your program is located in. Small efforts go a long way and acts of kindness are exactly what our world today needs.

If you are someone who is social, eager to contribute to a greater good and have a strong desire to travel, volunteer for community service programs abroad and you can’t go wrong!

Who can volunteer in community service?
Whether you’re a bubbly social person ready to dive headfirst into the local program and engage in community tasks or you’re a bit more laid back and prefer helping out behind the scenes of a program, it doesn’t really matter. There’s a place for every community volunteer who has a social mindset and wants to contribute to improving the education and medical care in local communities.

Volunteers Clearing the Land
Volunteers at work

We made an overview of personality traits that are highly appreciated in volunteers and may help you decide whether these programs are for you:

a social mindset
good communication skills
the ability to be a part of a team
the capacity to think on your feet and stay calm in stressful situations
adaptability
imagination and creativity
problem-solving ability
good organizational and time management skills
enthusiasm
resilience
a non-judgmental approach and respect for diversity
a professional attitude to engage yourself in tasks
a strong regard for health and safety
eagerness to travel
good physical health
Though it’s not required for a community volunteer to tick all the boxes, it’s a good guideline to take into account while considering whether you want to volunteer for a community service project.

Keep in mind that you will be confronted with some difficult situations during your volunteer adventure. Emotionally sensitive volunteers should be aware that this can be challenging at times and should read some reviews from former volunteers. However, rest assured that the positive emotions will far outweigh the negative ones during this once in a lifetime experience!

Not all projects require specific qualifications but some of them may be looking for a person with experience in the field. You will find a short description of qualifications which could be useful when applying for certain community service opportunities, below:

Childcare and Orphanages
Projects focused on childcare will happily welcome volunteers who have a background in psychology, education or counseling. Volunteers at orphanages need to comply with stricter rules as gender may play a role and it is necessary to provide a thorough background check and sometimes a medical statement before being accepted. We advise you to look at the program details on the program page to know exactly which requirements you need to fulfill for the project.

For projects in South America, it would help if you have a basic knowledge of Spanish prior to going as most locals don’t speak any English. Knowing some Spanish words would definitely help kickstart your volunteer adventure in countries like Peru or Costa Rica.

Culture and Arts and Construction
Volunteers for projects in culture and arts will have the most chance if they have a creative streak or a background in the arts. Art and music teachers are widely sought after for culture and art projects while handy volunteers will be very resourceful for projects focused on construction. For these programs, volunteers need to be of good health as they will be doing physically hard jobs.

Social Work and Women Empowerment
For projects in these fields, volunteers with a legal background or experience with social work would be a great match as both parties could benefit greatly. You can add this to your CV as valid experience while the project gets a trained helping hand.

Language requirements
It is required to speak English to become a community volunteer. Knowledge of the English language is important to be able to communicate with other staff and volunteers on your program. In some cases, like South America, it’s necessary to have a basic understanding of Spanish as English is not as common here as it might be in Africa or Asia.

There is a wide range of projects available and many community service projects are in dire need of helping hands. Many of them will warmly welcome enthusiastic volunteers with a sense of responsibility and a social mindset and will not require specific experience.

What will I do as a volunteer for community service?
There are many facets of community services but the main requirement for every program is that you care about people. Let’s take a look at some of the different fields and the types of tasks you may be doing when you volunteer abroad for a community service program:

Childcare
As a volunteer for childcare, you will spend most of your time getting to know the children and giving them lots of love and attention while teaching them some educational basics. Volunteers will engage with the children in a variety of activities aimed at building self-esteem, learning, and just having fun. As a childcare volunteer your main aims will be the following:

provide essential support to marginalized young children
Teach impoverished children important skills such as hygiene practices
Improve the future prospects of children and aid them to break the poverty cycle by supplying quality early childhood teaching
Expose volunteers, children and their families to different people and cultures
Construction
Another pillar of community service is contributing to construction activities. Many regions rely on these projects to provide impoverished families with the homes they deserve. Volunteers will assist in different areas of construction, like:

Laying groundworks for new community and school buildings
Repairing and renovating existing buildings
Renovating homes of underprivileged families
Fixing sanitary facilities in communal buildings
Improving the infrastructure of small communities
The specific tasks will depend on the local project and schedules will vary accordingly. By contributing your time and effort to the local construction activities, you will literally be building a better future for local families in need of a home. Savor the results of your hard work when you see the look of the people who are moving into the home you have helped to build.

Culture and Arts
Being able to enjoy culture and arts is a privilege often reserved for communities which are better off. Fortunately, there are programs in place which teach and introduce arts to communities in Africa, South America and Asia that simply don’t have the resources to indulge in the arts. The projects available will focus on the introduction of following items to the community:

These initiatives allow communities to learn how to express themselves in a different way and in some cases apply these skills to gain an extra source of income. Volunteers eager to contribute to a culture and art project will naturally be creative souls with a passion for teaching.

Orphanage
So many children in developing countries wind up in orphanages due to parents being too poor to take care of them or growing up in abusive surroundings. Resources are limited and there is always a shortage of hands to help out in the orphanages.

In many cases, the orphanages are single-sex meaning only women are allowed to assist at girls orphanages. Volunteers will be supporting the main caretakers at the orphanages and their tasks will vary depending on the orphanage ranging from:

Interacting and engaging with the children
Assisting with hygiene
Teaching English
Doing arts and crafts
Playing games and sports
Supporting the local staff with maintenance
Social Work
With large numbers of less fortunate people falling victim to unfair treatment such as abuse, domestic violence and discrimination, there’s a strong need for volunteers in social work who are eager to facilitate, provide counseling to these parties or provide legal support.

Volunteers with a legal background would be an asset and volunteering for social work could be an excellent opportunity to gain practical knowledge in the field. Some of the tasks you can expect as a community volunteer are the following:

Supporting on research projects or writing articles about current topics
Court trips
Accompanying professionals to family visits
Organizing Seminars and Workshops
Assisting staff members in their day to day activities
Women Empowerment
Although there’s still a long way to go before we reach equality on a global scale, fortunately, there are already a number of women empowerment organizations and projects in place in the world. Women in many developing countries are still victims of human trafficking, domestic violence and physical and/or sexual abuse on a regular basis. Volunteers who choose to assist in this area can make a difference by:

Teaching important topics like health and hygiene
Teaching business skills
Guarding children while they study within a protected environment where they can work Approach an improved future
Best places to volunteer for community service
The best place to volunteer for community service is basically anywhere! There are so many organizations worldwide who are looking for help and support from enthusiastic, socially aware volunteers. Consider all third world and developing countries but also some developed countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe.

If you have always wanted to travel to Africa, there are plenty of programs available in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and other interesting African countries. If South America sounds intriguing to you, how about joining community service opportunities in Argentina, Brazil or Peru? Or what about Asia? There are many programs available in India, Cambodia or Nepal.

Select a culture or region that intrigues you and set out to touch the local people’s lives. If traveling to distant places like Africa or Asia is not your thing, you can opt to aid at a program closer to home. There are community service opportunities in developed areas such as Europe as well that also require your support as a volunteer and are equally important.

Top 5 benefits of community service volunteering abroad
Most people will agree that helping other feels great! Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of community service you may enjoy as a volunteer:

1. Happiness
Research shows that the act of contribution makes people feel happier as it gives them a sense of purpose along with a focus beyond themselves. You’ll be contributing to a greater good if you decide to volunteer for community service opportunities. Rest assured that you’ll be touching more lives than you initially thought!

2. Future Opportunities
Volunteers looking to pursue a career in childcare, social work or law can benefit greatly from being a volunteer in community service. The volunteering experience could count as an internship if it is acknowledged by your university or college. Volunteer experiences are always highly appreciated by future employers as it portrays a willingness to contribute along with a strong social awareness and sense of responsibility.

3. People
You’ll be surrounded by other volunteers from your program and locals who are passionate about the same thing you are. The shared experience is bound to forge meaningful relationships that last even after your time in Africa, Asia or South America has ended.

4. Self Empowerment
Getting out of your comfort zone will give you a sense of empowerment which will push you forward in life. The new experiences will also give you a different perspective on life and you will benefit from them in the long run.

5. Travel
If you’re an adventurer and love to travel, nothing will stop you from discovering your surroundings. Volunteering abroad for services work will lead you to some of the most interesting destinations. Africa, Asia or South America? You decide!

How do I get started?
You’re determined to become a volunteer for a community service project and you’ve found some programs you’re passionate about. What’s next? Let’s take a look at the first 3 steps which will send you on your way to volunteering in a construction program:

Check whether there’s a match between the project and your skills.
Take a look at the location of the project and decide whether it would be a location you are willing to travel to.
Get in touch with the organization and see whether your expectations and the schedule of the program match.
Once you have decided on your project, there are two important steps left:

Make sure you have a valid passport.
Take into account the visa requirements for your destination.
Once this is settled, you are on your way to volunteering for community service programs and ready to embark on a life-changing journey. Travel safe!

Categories
Health Lifestyle

Several People Die in South Korea after Flu Vaccination

Samuel Lovett
 
 
 
 (AFP via Getty Images)
(AFP via Getty Images)
South Korean health authorities have sought to downplay vaccine fears within the country following the recent deaths of nine people who had been inoculated with a seasonal flu jab.
A 17-year-old boy who died on Friday was the first death noted by officials to follow receipt of the vaccine. The boy died two days after receiving the flu shot in Incheon, near the capital Seoul.

 

A man in his 70s, who had Parkinson’s disease and arrhythmia, was the most recent case. He died in Daegu on Wednesday, a day after receiving the flu vaccine. Daegu officials said the man had received vaccines since 2015 with no prior adverse reactions.

“It makes it hard for us to put out a categorical statement,” vice health minister Kim Gang-lip said on Wednesday. Jeong Eun-kyeong, the director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), told a media briefing that the country would be pushing ahead with its nationwide vaccine programme, having found no reason to suspend it.
 
Coming just weeks after the rollout of the national inoculation programme was suspended over safety worries, the deaths have dominated headlines in South Korea, and are expected to further intensify vaccine concerns within the country and beyond.

 

Boosting public trust in vaccines has become a major global challenge this year, with the likes of Russia and China rushing to approve experimental Covid-19 vaccines before full safety and efficacy studies have been completed.

Fears have been raised that vaccine hesitancy could hamper attempts to inoculate populations and reduce the transmission of Sars-Cov-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, thereby prolonging the pandemic.

In South Korea, officials last month announced plans to inoculate 30 million people in a bid to prevent the health system being overloaded by patients with flu and Covid-19.

However, the start of a free jab programme for around 19 million eligible people was suspended for three weeks after it was discovered that some five million doses, which need to be refrigerated, had been exposed to room temperature while being transported to a medical facility.

The nationwide rollout of flu jabs was resumed on 13 October, with 8.3 million people inoculated since then. Around 350 cases of adverse reactions have been reported.

The highest number of South Korean deaths linked to the seasonal flu vaccination was six in 2005, according to Yonhap news agency.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, trust in vaccines was a growing challenge for public health bodies. The World Health Organisation identified anti-vaxx sentiments as one of the top 10 global health threats for last year.

A South Korean poll earlier this month found that 62 per cent of 2,548 respondents in Gyeonggi province, near Seoul, would not get vaccinated against Covid-19, even if a vaccine is approved, until all safety questions are fully answered.

In America, six in 10 respondents to a September Axios/Ipsos poll said they would not take a vaccine as soon as it is available, up from 53 per cent in August, and a majority said they would wait at least a few months to get a vaccine or did not plan to get one at all.

Categories
Lifestyle World

These 5 African countries have the best roads in Africa

Most citizens in the Africa continent have complained bitterly about issues of not having enough infrastructure. This menace is projected to be part of the reasons why the countries lack progress.
These 5 African countries have the best roads in Africa
These 5 African countries have the best roads in Africa
Whiles corruption has taken over some countries in the continent, others have set their priorities right as they heavily invest in infrastructural projects that will enable their countries to grow.

According to the Global Competitiveness Report index, some countries have pointed out to be very keen as far as the progress of their infrastructure is concern.

The index tracks the performance of about 140 countries on 12 pillars of competitiveness, including the quality of road infrastructure development.

Below are the 5 African countries noted to have good roads:

• Namibia

The country is noted to be the first country in Africa to have the best roads. According to the report, Namibia is ranked 31 out of 137 countries in the world (with a score of 5.0 out of 7). It was first on the African continent. The current president of the country is Hage Geingob.

According to reports, Namibia’s progress in road infrastructure is attributed to the establishment of its Roads Authority in April 2000 that has paid attention to roads that were hitherto abandoned, contributing to socio-economic development.

Namibia
Namibia
• Rwanda

The country is ranked second best in Africa (with a score of 5.0) to have the best roads. According to the report, the country has made a large investment in the transport infrastructure with aid from China, Japan, the European Union, among others.

Nonetheless, the government has announced moves to invest more in transport infrastructure in order to “plug domestic road network gaps and stimulate economic growth.” Paul Kagame is the country’s current president.

Rwanda
Rwanda
• Morocco

This country is ranked third best in Africa and 52 globally, beating global giants like Italy and Belgium. According to the report, due to the country’s strategic location and its proximity to Europe, it has enabled it to be among the top destinations for tourists. The Moroccan government has over the years invested in rural infrastructure, providing access to water and electricity and of course good roads. The name of the current president of the country is Mohammed VI.

Morocco
Morocco

• Mauritius

Mauritius is ranked fourth and 48 globally (with a score of 4.5) with the best roads. This country is noted to be the most democratic country in Africa. It has roads that are in fairly good conditions with safety signs and a network for those who would want to take a tour of the island. The country’s president is Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.

Mauritius
Mauritius
• South Africa

The country is ranked fifth in Africa and 50 globally (with a score of 4.4). Having one of the largest road networks in the world, South Africa’s modern road network has been planned and developed over the years with its main trunk routes. South Africa’s current president is Cyril Ramaphosa.

South Africa
South Africa
Source: Pulse Ghana
Berlinda Entsie BERLINDA ENTSIE
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Categories
Travel Video

Tourism Boom in Mauritius, Africa

The evolution of Tourism in Mauritius (1st part)

Par Tega Chinnan
2019

1
Modern tourism did not start in Mauritius until the 1950s. Tourism was driven by the potential of the island as an attractive ‘3S’ (sun, sand and sea) and the need for economic diversification (Prayag, 2011). In a study by Seetaram (2012, p.314), the first tourists visiting the island during the 1800s as a place for “rest and relaxation” were French visitors. There were no specific tourist facilities and contact between visitors and locals are high. There are also records of the writer and botanist J. H. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, famous for his 1788 novel Paul et Virginie, visiting Mauritius in 1768, Charles Darwin in 1836 on the HMS Beagle and Mark Twain in 1896.

However, the history of tourism in the island is closely linked with the development of civil aviation and dates as far as back as 1952, with the famous long haul Qantas flight from Australia to South Africa, with stopovers at Cocos Island and Mauritius as transit points. As there were 125 passengers to accommodate, the guesthouse Chateau Mallac was transformed into Park Hotel. South African Airways joined in 1957 and Air Mauritius started its operation in 1967 and this boosted routes between neighboring islands (Seetaram 2012, p.214). Later in 1954, the first beach hotel was constructed in the island and was named Le Morne Plage Ltée, followed by the opening of “X club” in 1955 by the Lyndurst family and Ile de France by George Coombes.

By this time, the concept of beach hotel started to appear followed with the opening of Hotel Merville, Club Mediterranee, Royal Palm and Le Mauricia (Nunkoo, 2007, p.150). In 1954, there were 1,803 tourists visiting the island and by 1964, the number has grown to about 10,000. Since then, the number of tourists has been increasing gradually to reach the figure of 27,650 by 1970; almost a three-fold increase since 1964. The average annual rate of growth for the period 1966 – 70, was about 20.3%.

Unfortunately, despite subsequent reports such as the Meade Report (1967; 1968), one sector which was overlooked or thought not to have the potential to contribute to the Mauritian economy was the tourism sector. It is much credit of private entrepreneur mainly from the sugar industry, which had been inventive enough with the idea of developing the hospitality sector despite the difficult economic situation at the beginning. Before Mauritius became independent in 1968 the industry was left to the initiatives of the private sector, and there was little government involvement in the development and promotion of tourism.

Since then, Mauritius has followed a spatio-temporal tourism development as a “plantation model of tourism development” based on the Caribbean where they experienced colonisation and dependent on agriculture and exports and now tourism. It has to be noted that in the late 1950s, the World Bank also prescribed “tourism development” as a top economic priority for Third World Countries as part of the “modernisation paradigm”.

The economy started to diversify after the National Development Plan (1971-1975) toward other sector mainly tourism, textiles and financial services. The tourism sector is going to develop into the third pillar of the economy after the manufacturing sector and agriculture and will be looked from its journey to growth and development. After the independence, the government took an active role in the development of tourism. The main governing body is the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure, which oversees the work of the Mauritius Government Tourist Office (MGTO) since 1959 to 1996; it’s now the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) responsible for promoting tourism.

The Tourism Authority which falls on the aegis of the ministry has among its mandate tourism planning, policy formulation and implementation. The government has offered through the Hotel Development Incentive Act of 1974 many incentive schemes, namely the Hotel Development Certificate Scheme, the Hotel Management Services Certificate, and the Leisure Development Certificate and crown land on coastal areas to boost up tourism. The receipt of a Hotel Development Certificate entitles the holder to a series of concessions such as free repatriation of capital, profits and dividends, a guarantee against nationalisation and availability of loans from the Mauritius Development Bank, with a 12% lending rate. The second scheme offers a 15% corporate tax, tax free dividends for 10 years and exemption from payment of 1/2 nominal registration fees. The third one concerns registration duty payable on purchase of immovable properties.

These offers aroused the multinational companies’ interests. This had a major impact on the way tourism has developed in the island. Hotel development was regarded as one of the main priorities of the government. The Sun Internationals, a foreign group opened the St.Geran hotel in 1975 and La Pirogue hotel in 1976 on the island giving rise to “enclave tourism”. The term “enclave tourism” is generally applied tourism that promotes all-inclusive facilities and services centered on controlling the cultural and physical environment that the tourists experience as part of their stay. Not only there are associated benefits such as a significant source of employment, high quality resort may enhance the overall image whilst also limiting potential negative socio-cultural consequences.

However, enclave tourism has been recognised for leading limited economic links to the community and exacerbates problems of social inequality and disparity. These negative impacts are often the result of a top-down planning approach for tourism development (Nunkoo and Ramkissoon, 2013). Mauritius has also attracted many foreign investors such as Hilton, Radisson and Oberoi among others and local investors were not keen on investing in tourism at the start was mainly due to financial reasons. Hotel development was regarded as one of the main priorities of the government. The government’s policy at that period was at odds with the increased supply of hotel rooms and the number of tourist arrivals was relatively low because of the decline in growth from the major market and also because of inadequate promotion.

Nowadays, compared to many developing countries, in Mauritius local hotel groups such as Beachcomber, Constance Hotels, Lux Resorts and Sun Resort among others hold at least a 70% share of the market with 2,077 and 1,262 rooms respectively in 2012 (AHRIM 2012). The private sector in Mauritius is represented through various sectorial groups mainly the Association des hôteliers et restaurateurs de l’île Maurice (founded in 1973) and the Association of Inbound Operators Mauritius (founded in 1992). It is believed that “Tourism is everybody’s business”: “le tourisme est l’affaire de tous” says the slogan while referring to all the stakeholders in Mauritius.

Since tourist development began in Mauritius, the Government has also adopted a strategy of selective tourism with the accent very much on up-market and service quality. The main objective of the Government has been to continue to attract “low impact” and “high spending” visitors whose economic impacts are acknowledged to be more beneficial to the economy than low spending visitors (Nunkoo and Ramkissoon 2013). Thus, the Mauritian market is almost totally an upscale market which provides high-quality resort accommodation, therefore promoting high expenditure tourism (Seetaram 2012, p.320). The promotion of tourism during the 1970’s as part of the ‘modernisation paradigm’ was to make the island into one of the largest tourist destinations in the Indian Ocean.

With regard to tourism numbers, gaining access to accurate statistic on tourist arrivals date back to only 1970, when government recognised the value and potential of tourism in Mauritius. Tourist arrivals were recorded as 18,000 in 1970 and total tourist arrivals increased almost five-fold between 1972 and 1989, with arrival rising from 48,797 to 262,790 at an average annual growth rate of 15%. Judged by world tourism growth rates, Mauritius was one of the fastest growing tourism destinations, with an annual growth rate of 10 % (World Bank, 1992). A study by Seetanah et al (2011) suggested a near ten-fold increase between 1975 and 2002. Arrivals grew to a peak of 128,360 in 1979 together with a drop in 1980. Main reason for this fall was attributed to the effects of cyclone Claudette in December 1979 which caused bad publicity in the main European market and recession affecting major tourist-generating countries.

In the 1970’s, the industry was in its early years, it went from 16 hotels (961 rooms) to 25 (1009 rooms) in 1972.

Although the statistical data provides a comprehensive figure of tourist numbers, it’s however generally found hard to obtain qualitative historic data on issues such as tourist expectations and motivations, residents’ attitude toward tourism and tourism policies in recognising the historical evolution of tourism in Mauritius. Tourism statistics published by the statistics office does not provide a foolproof measure of the health of the destination nor does it provides data on the attractiveness and perceived quality of the destination (repeat visitors) among others.

The economic boom, in the second half of the 1980’s in Mauritius, appears to be the key to many problems and issues facing its tourism industry. Already during the mid-1970’s, hotel occupancy rates were fairly flat, largely because capacity ran ahead of demand. Heavy investment in tourist accommodations, as a result of the rapid growth of the island’s tourist industry, led to the unprecedented levels of construction in both hotel rooms and non-conventional accommodations. The government’s applied policy at that period was at odds with the increased supply of hotel rooms and the number of tourist arrivals was relatively low because of the decline in growth from the major market, increased in air fare and also because of inadequate promotion.

The hotel industry has seen a dramatic increase from 34 establishments in 1975 (bed capacity of 2,884) to 95 establishment with a bed capacity of 12,359, an overall growth of 182 per cent (MGTO, 1995). Figures from the statistical office published in March 1998 bring the number of registered hotels to 87 at the end of December 1997, with a total capacity of 6,809 rooms corresponding to 14,126 beds. The hotel rooms have continued to grow from 7,267 in 1998 to 12,830 in 2006.

However, the occupancy rates of available bed places has shown a decreasing trend for a number of years, from 63% in 1997 to 55% in 2003. In other words, the hotel sector of Mauritius was not successful in exploiting the available capacity. An effort was made in the 1990s to boost the tourism sector in the country. The emphasis of the campaign was on the total tourism product concept, in terms of the friendliness of the host population, the shopping experience, the quality and variety of the food and the relative safety of the visitors.

Moreover, hotel occupancy rates were declining but the hotel rates have increased significantly in those years. In the master plan for Air Transportation prepared by the Netherlands Airport Consultants released in 2004, an explanation AHRIM was the pricing of rooms in Euro. They suggest this increase in room rates should be attributed to the appreciation of the Euro vis-à-vis the Rupee. The different market conditions between the peak and the off-peak season was another reason. The annual increase in overall room rates was partly attributable to the increases of room rates during peak season. The off-peak season rooms’ rates however do not receive sufficient demand volume, resulting in an overall decrease in occupancy rate.

Other arguments were the decreasing length of stay per tourist, all year around operation and payroll, and cost due to hotel renovations. The market conditions for the demand and supply of hotel rooms are therefore not that flexible and competitive enough as claimed by the private sectors. An indication that the intended strategy was not followed is that the current major hotel development takes place in a time that only 55% of the room capacity is used and tourist arrivals are stagnating (AHRIM, 2009). Consequently, to ensure a good working relationship with the private sector, the government adopted a ‘Hotel Development strategy’ in 2009 to favours the construction of only 4* and 5* hotels to reinforce the portfolio analysis of Mauritius product and in an attempt to generate traffic flows belonging to the highest spending segments. A Planning Policy Guidance for coastal development was also introduced.

Tourism arrivals increased from 681,648 to 761,063 between 2002 and 2005 and an increase of nearly 200,000 tourist arrivals between 2006 and 2007. There has been a decline in the number of tourist arrivals for the year 2009 attaining 871,356. This represents a decrease of 6.4% over the figure of 930,456 registered for the year 2008. The dramatic decline in tourist arrivals in 2009, however, was a reflection of the impact of the Eurozone financial crisis and chikungunya outbreak. From 2010 to 2014, the tourist industry grew at an average of 2.8%, 2 percent under the world average. Moreover, a study by Surrey Research Group UK (2000) carried out a quantitative forecast estimates tourism arrivals to reach 1.2 m by the year 2020 in Mauritius. This Holt exponential smoothing forecast was based on a “linear trend in arrivals unconstrained growth in the supply facilities, a medium range occupancy rate of 60%, and average length of stay of 8 nights” (AHRIM, 2006:7). The research concluded that the greatest challenge facing the industry for the next two decades is to maintain its image of high quality destination as a “long term viable option”.

Tourism Planning

The first Plan for Social and economic Development (1971-1975) published by the government gave significant importance to the tourism industry as a means of diversifying from over-reliance on sugar exports and to resolve the problem of high employment. Promotion for long-haul, high-spend tourist has been the objectives of the four year plan. Mauritius was promoted as a luxury destination and key objectives was attracting the classic tourist typologies of ‘wanderlust’ and ‘sunlust’ as a key means to ‘sustainable’ tourism (Seetaram 2012, p.320, Nunkoo and Ramkissoon 2010b, p.39). The findings from the plan also advocates a ‘human dimensions’ to tourism planning however it was not specific how this would be implemented.

Furthermore, despite efforts to reduce unemployment, the crisis had worsened. The population did not have the training and skills to work in the industry and any training program had to be enlisted with the private sector. The plan received press attention because it criticised the ideology of ‘development’ was an ongoing process. It is also important to notice tourism as a source of job creation, the governing body of tourism during that era was also that of employment. Subsequently, the role of Tourism ministers evolved to Tourism and Leisure, the Ministry of tourism and External Communications and recently Ministry of Tourism. With the degradation of the environment in which tourism operates, combining future tourism minister purse may be wise to some degree to contemplate.

The White paper on Tourism published in 1988 stressed even more the importance of a ‘social function of tourism’ highlighting social preservation next to ecological and cultural preservation. It advocates that ‘tourism policy should guarantee in the future a reduction of social disparities and broaden social advantages for the benefit of all social strata’ (Ministry of Employment and Tourism 1998, p.6). Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, Development Plans failed to examine the social impacts of tourism and did not include a social assessment or a measurement for developments. A ‘tourism ceiling’ was approved in the White Paper on Tourism but there was a pattern of increasing tourism arrival by modifying the ‘tourism ceiling’. However, findings from Cleverdon Steer Report (1992) illustrated how the government believed that a ‘tourism ceiling’ was a sufficient means of environmental sustainability (Cleverdon Steer 1992, p29, 32).

The Cleverdon Steer Report (1992) detailed that the visitor carrying capacity would be established through management plan, zoning plan and monitoring procedures of the ecological environment (Cleverdon Steer 1992, p58). The report criticised previous National Plans as providing “very little hard evidence on the sociocultural consequences of tourism… most studies have focused on the economic aspect” (Cleverdon Steer 1992, p. 1-11). Participative planning was recommended ‘at each level – national, district, village’ with the objective of ‘improving resident’s participation in tourism planning and the outcome of its development’ (Cleverdon Steer 1992). However, it was only in the early 2000s, recognising the tourism product and positioning of Mauritius were in-adequate in sustaining tourist numbers. A National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP 2002), funded by the European Union in 2000, was commission to help to the diversification and rejuvenation of the industry (Deloitte and Touche, 2002) and a target of 1.5 million tourists were made.

Tourism Strategies in Mauritius

The National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP 2002) was the basic document for the current tourism strategy of Mauritius. The overall vision statement of the national tourism strategy is to make Mauritius: “A leading and sustainable island destinations.” The national strategy of is also guided by the following mission statement: “To develop and champion tourism activities so as to build the sector into a key engine of growth and to make of Mauritius the best island destination in the world.”

The NTDP 2002 distinguishes three basic options for tourism development:

Tourist numbers
Quality and the mix of accommodation
Diversification of market segments and accommodation stock.
The general objective as indicated in the strategic paper is to optimise socio-economic benefits from the tourism industry for the people of Mauritius. Parallel to that objective it is intended to make tourism a positive force for environmental conservation and for social-cultural enhancement. The national tourism strategy emphasises on low impact and high spending tourism. Selective, up-market, quality tourism is favoured, and although such tourism is not the only type, it constitutes the major segment of the market (Nunkoo and Ramkissoon, 2013). The NTDP 2002 has brought a more integrated and comprehensive approach to tourism in its internal environment, mainly among different tourism Stakeholders.

The NTDP 2002 concludes that selective up-market will be favoured. The Hotel Development strategy of 2009, have be sought to reinforce this positioning by focusing of only four and five-star hotel developments and the industry went through an extensive upgrading of hotel facilities with a regulated hotel classification. Other policy such as ‘Ile Maurice Durable’ was launch in 2008 to promote sustainable development.

Despite the ‘low volume and high quality’ hotel sector, there are also regional and domestic markets that seek inexpensive accommodation, for example the French coming through Reunion Island. This market has developed through the ‘informal’ sector and will be regularised as indicated by the NTDP 2002.

The third option, the NTDP 2002 discussed, is the opportunity for diversification. Diversification will add more to the product portfolio and make the destination more attractive, but it has to be achieved without disturbing the core market segment: tourists with high expenditure profiles. The NTDP 2002 suggests diversification into a number of market segments, like 50+ groups, conferences and exhibitions (M.I.C.E segments), medical tourism, golf tourism and other special events. Next, there is a need for further diversification and improvement in the (inland) tourist attractions, among which eco-tourism and cultural-tourism. The government published a report entitled ‘Mauritius National Export-Cultural Tourism Sector 2017-2021’ highlighting a strong case for a strong case for cultural tourism.

The rich history, multicultural heritage, the local folklore, local cuisine and as well as cultural heritage sites gives Mauritius a sense of uniqueness and a significant competitive advantage. It has to be noted that two Mauritius sites, namely Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis and Le Morne Cultural Landscape, are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2006 and 2008 respectively. Importantly, Participatory planning process was a noticeable change in government consultation for these projects but also a prerequisite requirement for maintaining the site’s WHS status (Prayag 2015).

In addition, the report proposed (NTDP 2002 2002: E/8) the following strategic actions if Mauritius is to maintain its positioning as a high quality tourism:

Continue to focus on selective tourism – ‘High spenders – Low impact’
Continue to focus on scheduled services and quality air access
Make Mauritius an even higher valued added, higher quality tourism destination.
Make ‘personal service excellence’, one of our competitive advantages, a key selling proposition for the destination.
Establish a unique destination image for Mauritius
Broaden Mauritius product portfolio by regularizing the informal sector and at the same time raising standards and enhance the overall quality positioning.
Diversification of the Tourism Product

The NTDP 2002 also emphasizes the introduction of clear land-use zoning and physical development plans to permit a more efficient and sustainable use of land resources. Six tourism development zones have been identified for which the NTDP 2002 has formulated a specific development and planning strategy. The ‘Northern Tourist Zone’ is the main tourist centre. The focal point is to maintain and increase the broad range of accommodation type whilst upgrading the quality. The ‘South West Tourist Zone’ is indicated to allocate a wide range of accommodation types. The strategy is to maintain the luxury and high quality hotel development and at the same time upgrade the informal sector through license control.

The development focus for the ‘Eastern Tourist Zone’ is the luxury and quality hotel range. This implies a strategy of maintaining the luxury and high quality hotel development through control and environmental protection and improvements. ‘Mahébourg Tourist Zone’ is a south east zone for small scale mixed development. The strategy emphasises to maintain luxury hotels, whilst making environmental protection a priority. Another spearhead of the strategy is to stimulate high quality small hotel development. The philosophy for the ‘South Coast Heritage Zone’ is to maintain a rich environmental reserve of scenery and natural features of the island. This strategy is formulated in order to protect and maintain the rich environmental reserve of scenery and natural features. ‘The South West Nature Zone’ is meant for improvements in ‘green activities’ and not for hotel developments. The ‘Black River Gorges National Park’ is also incorporated in this nature zone.

Recent proposed construction of a hotel in 2017 at Pomponnette in the south has caused much disapproval among the local residents. Past academics studies about local residents’ attitudes towards tourism in Mauritius (Nunkoo and Ramkissoon (2011), Prayag et al, 2010) were generally positive but now civil society coalition such as ‘Aret Kokin Nu Laplaz’ and ‘Plaform Sov Nu Laplaz’ are expressing concern about beaches being converted into further hotel developments which will impinge on the 45 km of public beach of the 333 km of coastal area and be to the detriment of local resident access to leisure. Furthermore, it was noted that local residents have little input in Tourism planning and development in Mauritius (Nunkoo and Ramkissoon 2013).

The NTDP 2002 for Mauritius was tasked to satisfy other objectives such as social responsibility and good governance. Consequently, one of the objectives is to make tourism a positive force for environmental conservation and for social-cultural enhancement. The NTDP 2002 suggests a framework for physical planning and development control. In spite of this, the NTDP 2002 didn’t define the limits of acceptable environmental change. This is the important first step towards sustainable tourism. The other steps are: inform the tourists, monitor, and measure and manage and re-invest the yields to improve the environment. However, none of them is incorporated in the NTDP 2002; the NTDP 2002 just gives quantitative objectives for a growth in tourism as opposed to yield from visitors (Prayag 2011). This is a shortcoming, because only then all tourism developments and their spatial and environmental consequences could have been considered in relation with each other.

Environmental Impact Assessments are done without notice of the context with other developments. Previously, hotel developments occur in a largely ad hoc fashion and it was expected that this could be a danger for the island’s environment. However, new legislations were introduced and hotel developers have now more corporate and social responsibilities. Protection of the physical environment was an integrate part of the island tourism strategy. Since 1997 two marine parks were proclaimed: The Blue Bay Marine Park in the south of the island and the Balaclava Marine Park in the north to raise the awareness of the local population as well as foreign visitors on the need to protect marine life. Other sites around the island will also be transformed into marine parks or fishing reserves. They include the small islets, Isle Plate and Coin de Mire, in the north. Careful environmental planning and design are essential to prevent the island from an urban sprawl of hotel developments, which would destroy its strengths. Nevertheless, tourism could also be a locomotive for improvement of the whole environment (physical and social), if the yields are invested in environmental planning and design, flora & fauna, water management, facilities for the inhabitants, SME, etc.

The Tourism Development Plan in 2002 also recommended a national logo to be used as an icon for Mauritius tourism marketing which will reflect a new dynamism and thrust of the private and public sector in a combined marketing effort. Since the end of 2009, Mauritius with its slogan “Mauritius, c’est du Plaisir” & “Mauritius, is a pleasure” have taken branding in a wider context through nation branding which concerns the country’s whole image, covering political, economic, historical and cultural dimensions. The challenge of maintaining Mauritius destination image in alignment with targeted visitor groups whilst effectively enhancing its competitiveness is critical to the success. How Mauritius image is being perceived and projected as unique to potential tourists in order to stimulate desirability, increasing so today where all form of media, from conventional to social, play a major role in destination image.

A problem is that social media is generally uncontrollable and unpredictable; despite it has potential immense coverage. One can therefore argue that image is an essential component, along with other destination tourism supply. New Zealand, for example, its unique slogan “100% PURE NZ” is used worldwide. However, the used of dual language of the Mauritian slogan needs to be adapted accordingly. The emergence of electronic media distribution systems may have a profound effect on the performance of the MTPA, as the emphasis on print material lessens, and more people are able to access instant travel, information, travel blogs and booking in an electronic form.

The main social media platform of the MTPA is Facebook, YouTube and Instagram for all market and Weibo, WeChat and Youku for China. However, the creation of a unique content for its promotion remains a challenge despite a survey by Prayag (2012) who found that the ‘paradise lost’ image is still successful among European tourist (Prayag 2012, p11). The need for MTPA to justify its existence and to prove a return on investment is more critical today than ever before during a period of accountability and good governance. The expenditure cost in marketing budget by each individual’s hotel groups and that of the government needs to be scrutinised to measure overall marketing performance of the destination. However, to best manage the complexity among stakeholders is therefore acceptable that the destination need to bring together all parties to collaborate rather than complete, and to pool resources towards a unique marketing campaign.

In his speech ‘setting the stage for Robust Growth’ the Ministry of Tourism and External Communication proposed revisiting the tourism strategy. As a result, the ‘Assises du Tourisme’ was first organised in 2006 to look into the issues and challenges facing the tourism sector. Principles of Sustainability was also highlighted in the NTDP 2002 and reinforced in the ‘Tourism Sector Strategy Plan (2008-2015) financed by the European Union and prepared by Emerging Market Group to overview the tourism sector and in 2010 the government suggested the following points to further enhance tourism development. A revamping of the tourism policy was announced with further approach to ‘Air Access, Marketing Strategy and Product Development.

Furthermore, with the decline in the sugar sector over the years, large extents of sugarcane land have been converted in Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) and Real Estate Scheme (RES) developments since 2002 where high class villas are being sold to foreigners at a minimum cost of US$ 500,000 (Board of Investment, 2009). These villas are a recent form of enclave tourism as some owners might put them on rent. Nonetheless, its economic viability to the local tourism revenue needs to be questioned as an informal sector and is not regulated.

Protection of the physical environment is yet another integrates part of the island tourism strategy. The Blue Bay Marine Park in the south of the island and the Balaclava Marine Park in the north were proclaimed to raise the awareness of the local population as well as foreign visitors on the need to protect marine life. However, recent investment in aquaculture and Mariculture (floating cages in the lagoons) by the Ministry of fisheries has caused many controversies among the hoteliers. They argued that these farms will attract sharks and hereby affecting the hotel industry. It will be interesting to see the next move of the Ministry of fisheries after a court judgment in favour of AHRIM. The sustainability of the destination is suggested as one of the key aspects of the current Ministry of Tourism, Mr Anil Gayan. He suggested in a Strategic Paper Tourism in Mauritius: A new spirit for a new mandate (2015) the idea of ‘insufflate in the tourism sector a renewed sense of place’. The goal was to offer an enriched tourist experience highlighting the authentic city of the destination (Ministry of Tourism, 2017).

A second “Assises du Tourisme” was held last year to reflect on the challenges facing the industry more than 10 years after to discuss the future of the industry. More than 240 tourism stakeholders from the public and private sector participated in the Assises to reflect on the challenges facing the industry. A series of recommendations was put forward by the public and private sector. However, the successful implementation of sustainable tourism will require cooperation by a wide range of different stakeholders, tourists and most importantly the host communities. The present strategy however failed to recognise the ‘community element’ in mission statement. One of the key elements of sustainable development is a holistic viewpoint, whereby it is recognised that “tourisme est l’affaire de tous” and the best chance of success is through symbiosis. Without community support many initiatives are bound to fail, particularly where local involvement is an important element.

Future strategy for tourism of Mauritius should be that of a ‘community’ drive in addition to the relevance of sustainable value creation to ensure long-term competitive advantages, as the success of tourism in Mauritius can be attributed to the hospitality of its people. Tourism is a powerful way of representing the world, people and places. The focus on hospitality experience has created reputations of the destination but it is not the main attraction. It is mostly our sense of hospitality, the ‘legendary smile of its people’ more than our beaches participated in making Mauritius one of the world references in tourism. These intangible elements of the tourism product have contributed to the success of Mauritius. So far, the hospitality industries are the main actors in tourism sitting on many governments tourism boards, but as recognition to its people, our tourism strategy mission statement should imply: To develop and champion tourism activities so as to build the sector into a key engine of growth ‘for the benefits of its inhabitants”.

When considering tourism as a development strategy, government must consider how tourism will contribute in a sustainable way to community well-being. Besides, tourism thinking, writing and how it should be practiced have changed. In tourism studies, Jafari’s notion of ‘Adaptancy Platform’ (2001:31), referring to the presentation of tourism as a provider of employment and income has moved to that of ‘Cautionary’, ‘Adaptancy’ and now the ‘knowledge-based platform’, whereby community-focused forms of tourism are now proposed as an alternative to the excesses of conventional tourism. The tourists themselves have also changed and the ‘new tourists’ want to experience Mauritius differently than their parents’ did.

Tega Chinnan

MA in Tourism Development- St Mary’s University