TANZANIA (eTN) – Air Mauritius has launched weekly flights connecting the island to Tanzania, looking at the fast-growing tourism in THE Southern African region.
The Mauritian airline will be flying its Airbus A319 plane from Port Louis to Dar es Salaam on Fridays, with a return trip via the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
Air Mauritius Chairman Arjoon Suddhoo said in Dar es Salaam during the launching of the flight that the Mauritian airline would have 26 weekly flights to Africa following the addition of the new destinations.
“African economies have shown remarkable resilience to the global crisis. Their growth rates have been consistently higher than the global average; the expansion of our network on the African continent is a step to address the need for more connectivity,” Suddhoo said.
Early this May, the airline launched weekly (Wednesday) flights on the 2,633-kilometer route to Maputo in Mozambique. The return flight operates via Durban.
Two days later, Air Mauritius opened another weekly (Friday) flight on the 2,494-kilometer route to Dar es Salaam with a return flight via Nairobi. Both routes will be flown by one of the airline’s two A319s and neither faces direct competition.
Megh Pillay, Air Mauritius Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said African economies have shown remarkable resilience to the global crisis. Their growth rates have been consistently higher than the global average.
“The expansion of our network on the African continent is a step to address the need for more air connectivity. These new flights will contribute in feeding the Air Corridor that links Africa and Asia via the hubs of Mauritius and Singapore,” Pillay added.
Created in 1967, Air Mauritius currently operates a fleet of six A340s, two A330-200s, two A319s, and two ATR 72-500s and flies to 21 destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Indian Ocean.
Ranking top on the list of tourist destinations among the members of the Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa (RETOSA), Mauritius is famous for its rich marine tourism.
The island is best for water sports made up of snorkeling, scuba diving and undersea strolls, kayaking, jet skiing, motor boating, parasailing, and much more.
The island is also famous for glass-bottomed boat trips which provide clear glimpses of the marine life and corals below the blue waters of the Indian Ocean.
Windsurfing is also popular with adventure enthusiasts, who take advantage of the near-perfect conditions of Mauritian waters to get their adrenaline pumping. Forming a luxurious backdrop to the exquisite beauty of the island are the world-renowned Mauritius hotels, each of them offering opulent accommodation and scrumptious tropical cuisine, making this the most idyllic destination imaginable.
Some of the most popular beaches of Mauritius are the Baie du Tamarin, Flic-en Flac, Cap Malheureux, Blue Bay, and the Belle Mare.
