Amid a festering debt crisis and stagnant economic growth, Europeans have cut down on the number of long-haul holidays taken to exotic destinations like Mauritius.

Mauritius has for the second time this year cut its 2013 arrival forecast after tourist numbers grew marginally in the first half and earnings fell, the statistics office said on Thursday.

Mauritius, best known for its azure waters, white beaches and luxury spas, said it expects 980,000 tourists this year from its previous forecast of a 2.5 percent rise to 990,000.

Wary of its reliance on Europe, Mauritius and regional rivals like the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean are increasingly looking to new markets in Asia to drive growth in tourism, but this has so far failed to reverse the tide except for the Seychelles.

The Port Louis government had initially expected tourist numbers to hit the one million mark this year, but revised this downwards in June. Last year, tourist arrivals rose just 0.1 percent to 965,441.

Tourism accounts for about 8 percent of gross domestic product for Mauritius’ $10 billion economy.

Statistics Mauritius said tourist arrivals to the palm-fringed Indian Ocean island rose only slightly by 1 percent to 471,664 in the first six months of 2013.

Tourism revenue for the first half was estimated at 22.05 billion rupees ($720 million), a 6.3 percent decline compared to the same period in last year, the central bank said.

Tourism revenue for the whole year is forecast to be flat at 44.60 billion rupees compared to 44.37 billion a year ago.

Statistics Mauritius said the average room occupancy rate for all hotels during the first half of 2013 was 60 percent, compared to 62 percent in the same period last year.

Earlier this month, Mauritius leading hotel group New Mauritius Hotels posted a sharp decline of 30 percent in pretax profit.