Travel and tourism added around 490 million U.S. dollars to Mauritius' GDP in 2021, a decline of 40 percent compared to the previous year. Famous for its beaches and natural landscape, Mauritius is one of the most visited destinations in Africa. Tourism is a relevant component of the country's economy and was strongly affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Before the health crisis, the sector added 2.35 billion U.S. dollars to Mauritius' GDP in 2019.

In 2018, Mauritius registered approximately *** million tourist arrivals. This was an increase compared to the previous year when the island nation on the southeast coast of Africa received just over **** million tourists. Furthermore, in 2019, it was forecast that tourists’ figures would have increased steadily over the following years. However, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of tourists entering Africa decreased significantly. Africa counted roughly *** million tourists in July 2019, whereas by the same month in 2020 the numbers decreased to *** thousand.

Pandemic impact on tourist arrivals

Looking at the year-to-date change in tourists’ arrivals in Africa by sub-region, Northern Africa had approximately ** percent fewer visitors in 2020, whereas Sub-Saharan Africa suffered as well with ** percent fewer tourists. Similar results are seen for Mauritius with significant decreases in international tourists’ arrivals in 2020 and 2021. By April 2020, the country counted a 100 percent decrease in visitors compared to the same month of the previous year. Moreover, the first five months of 2021 illustrated the same development, which heavily impacted the economy.

Projected GDP growth

Such economic impact can be seen with the estimated and projected GDP growth of Mauritius. According to the 2020 estimations, the country's real gross domestic product (GDP) declined significantly by ** percent. Nevertheless, projections show a positive GDP development in both 2021 and 2022.

Tourist Arrivals in Mauritius decreased to 97273 in June from 115090 in May of 2025. This dataset provides - Mauritius Tourist Arrivals - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Mauritius: Tourist arrivals: The latest value from 2020 is 316 thousand tourists, a decline from 1418 thousand tourists in 2019. In comparison, the world average is 4935 thousand tourists, based on data from 123 countries. Historically, the average for Mauritius from 1995 to 2020 is 870 thousand tourists. The minimum value, 316 thousand tourists, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 1431 thousand tourists was recorded in 2018.

In 2021, travel and tourism contributed roughly five percent to Mauritius's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The share decreased from 8.3 percent in 2020, still reflecting the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the sector. Famous for its beaches and natural landscape, Mauritius is one of the most visited destinations in Africa.

Dataset shows Tourist arrivals by main purpose of visit, 2019 – 2023

Employment in travel and tourism in Mauritius represented a share of 15.5 percent of the country's total employment in 2021. The share slightly increased from 14.8 percent, when the sector was strongly affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the improvement, employment in tourism remained lower compared to the level previous to the health crisis.

Tourism receipts of Mauritius plummeted by 74.41% from 2,024,000,000 US dollars in 2019 to 518,000,000 US dollars in 2020. Since the 7.78% surge in 2018, tourism receipts sank by 76.03% in 2020. International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Number of arrivals of Mauritius plummeted by 77.72% from 1,418,000 number in 2019 to 316,000 number in 2020. Since the 4.38% rise in 2018, number of arrivals sank by 77.92% in 2020. International inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.

Tourism expenditures of Mauritius plummeted by 65.85% from 656,000,000 US dollars in 2019 to 224,000,000 US dollars in 2020. Since the 8.05% surge in 2017, tourism expenditures sank by 69.65% in 2020. International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Tourism expenditure in the country of Mauritius sank by 74.41% from 2,024,000,000 current US dollars in 2019 to 518,000,000 current US dollars in 2020. Since the 7.78% jump in 2018, tourism expenditure in the country plummeted by 76.03% in 2020. Series 1.33

Dataset shows Tourist arrivals by continents, 2019 and 2022 – 2023

Mauritius: International tourism revenue, percent of GDP: The latest value from 2020 is 4.54 percent, a decline from 14.02 percent in 2019. In comparison, the world average is 3.33 percent, based on data from 125 countries. Historically, the average for Mauritius from 1995 to 2020 is 15.46 percent. The minimum value, 4.54 percent, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 20.4 percent was recorded in 2007.

Dataset shows Tourist arrivals and growth rate per month, 2019 – 2023

In 2020, there were over 70 thousand jobs in the sector of travel and tourism in Mauritius. Despite a decrease by over 30 percent compared to 2019, the sector of travel and tourism held roughly 14 percent of the total employment in Mauritius.

Mauritius E-Commerce Transactions: Value: Travel & Tourism: Travel & Tourism data was reported at 126.193 USD in 28 Nov 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 59.235 USD for 27 Jun 2024. Mauritius E-Commerce Transactions: Value: Travel & Tourism: Travel & Tourism data is updated daily, averaging 86.274 USD from Jan 2019 (Median) to 28 Nov 2024, with 425 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,251.396 USD in 16 Jun 2023 and a record low of 0.174 USD in 27 Oct 2022. Mauritius E-Commerce Transactions: Value: Travel & Tourism: Travel & Tourism data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Grips Intelligence Inc.. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Mauritius – Table MU.GI.EC: E-Commerce Transactions: by Category.

Tourism expenditures as a share of imports of Mauritius sank by 51.84% from 8.91 % in 2019 to 4.29 % in 2020. Since the 12.69% jump in 2016, tourism expenditures as a share of imports plummeted by 59.43% in 2020. International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Their share in imports is calculated as a ratio to imports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.

As of April 2020, international tourist arrivals decreased by *** percent compared to the same month of the previous year in Mauritius. The effects of the pandemic were still visible in 2021. The number of tourist arrivals were still *** percent lower in May 2021 than in May 2019.

Outbound tourism - travel of Mauritius plummeted by 64.53% from 578,000,000 current US dollars in 2019 to 205,000,000 current US dollars in 2020. Since the 8.60% surge in 2017, outbound tourism - travel sank by 69.36% in 2020. Series 3.4

In 2019, around **** million international tourists arrivals were registered in Mauritius, which was only slightly lower than the year before, when the number peaked at **** million. Famous for its beaches and natural landscape, Mauritius is one of the most visited destinations in Africa.