An important homeport and port of call in the Indian Ocean, the country has been building up its cruise infrastructure over the past decades, said the Acting Director-General of Mauritius Port Authority Shakeel Goburdhone.
“With the objective to promote cruise tourism, the Mauritius Ports Authority constructed a dedicated cruise jetty to accommodate cruise ship in 2009,” he told Cruise Industry News.
“With a view to enhancing the level of service offered to cruise passengers and further promoting Mauritius as a homeport destination, the MPA proceeded with the construction of the cruise terminal building, which is now ready for operations in November 2023,” Goburdhone added.
Set to become one of the largest facilities in the region, the new cruise terminal will be able to accommodate 4,000 passengers per day.
To Arvind Bundhun, the director of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, with its high guest capacity, the country’s new cruise terminal stands out in the Indian Ocean.
“The cruise business segment witnessed a major boost before the pandemic and is picking up steadily. We aim to position Mauritius as the homeporting hub in the Indian Ocean,” he said.
“Mauritius is a multi-faceted destination with a palette of offerings, and we welcome cruise passengers to live these immersive experiences,” Bundhun added.
With the investment in the cruise industry, Mauritius plans to surpass its record of 40 calls which was achieved in 2018.
The port authority also aims to attract more cruise ships for homeporting operations. Prior to the pandemic, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises and Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines had ships based in Port Louis Harbor.
With AIDA back for a homeporting season in 2023-24, the country is also set to receive world cruise calls from several cruise lines including MSC Cruises, Cunard, Hapag Lloyd, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Ponant, Phoenix Reisen, Holland American Line, Silversea Cruises and Seabourn.
Between transit and homeporting, Mauritius expects a total of 24 calls in 2023, with a minimum of 24,000 passengers.
