One million visitors and counting: Emirates boosts tourism demand for Mauritius | News

For more than two decades, Emirates has played a key role in supporting Mauritius’ tourism ambitions, driving visitor numbers and opening doors to new source markets worldwide.

As of 2022, more than one million of registered tourists in Mauritius have been transported by Emirates, representing more than 20% of the total number of tourists landing in Mauritius during 2022-2025. Visitor growth has created a positive impact across the tourism value chain, from hotels and restaurants to tour operators, supporting thousands of jobs and delivering meaningful benefits to the local economy.

Based on its network of more than 150 destinations, plus the wider network of more than 1,700 offline points served through its airline partners, Emirates has played a major role in the recovery of tourism in Mauritius, with 2025 marking a record year for visitor arrivals to the island.

Last year, Emirates brought nearly 309,000 tourists to Mauritius from key source markets across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands and Switzerland, among others. The airline has also worked with travel industry partners to cultivate other key leisure markets such as the United States, China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, significantly increasing visitor numbers while providing a significant boost to tourism growth in Mauritius.

According to the latest official tourism figures, Mauritius welcomed a record 1,436,250 visitors in 2025, an increase of 3.9% on the number of tourists in 2024. Emirates followed this momentum and delivered a 5.7% increase in the number of tourists flown to Mauritius in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Nabil Sultan, Emirates Executive Vice President Passenger Sales & Country Management, said: “Mauritius remains a jewel in our Indian Ocean portfolio and one of the most aspirational destinations for travelers in our network. Emirates is committed to elevating the island’s global profile through strategic partnerships across the tourism value chain, working with tourism organizations, leading hotels and other travel partners to create curated, high-quality travel experiences that showcase Mauritius’ natural beauty and warm hospitality.

We would like to thank the Mauritian authorities for their continued support in ensuring the smooth operation of our flagship services, the A380 and Boeing 777. Our consistent flight schedule has been critical in unlocking connectivity to key markets across our global network and attracting interest from international travel buyers, helping us deliver on our shared commitment to driving sustainable visitor growth. We are also pleased to support and complement the operations of national carrier Air Mauritius, whose services have contributed significantly to the success of this route.

Driven by our commitment to Mauritius and the evolving needs of customers across our network, we are proud to introduce our updated Boeing 777 with Premium Economy from March 29, which will operate daily on the EK709 and EK710. This aircraft will also feature many other onboard improvements that will elevate the travel experience for customers on the Mauritius-Dubai route while providing exceptional value for travelers.”

Defending Mauritius on the world stage
With the shared strategic objective of promoting Mauritius as a major leisure destination to a global audience, Emirates has worked closely with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) since 2012, supported by its regular scheduled services, of which there have been three daily services since December 2025. Emirates operates two daily A380 services and a third daily flight using a Boeing 777 aircraft, with approximately 10,500 seats weekly to Mauritius.

The continued push for joint promotional efforts with the MTPA, driven by Emirates’ continued commitment to the country, has seen more than 30 top travel agents from key European and GCC markets participate in introductory tours since 2022 to experience Mauritius first-hand, promoting its appeal to travelers with a range of budgets, tastes and preferences.

Travel agents from Emirates’ extensive network, in addition to joint partnerships with hotels, have also participated in hospitality roadshows, workshops and presentations organized by Emirates, and have received value-added incentives and benefits to promote the destination to their customer base, with exclusive and tailor-made packages.

Through its public relations and marketing efforts, Emirates also continuously supports the destination through targeted advertising campaigns to showcase Mauritius as an ideal holiday destination to its global audience. The airline also organizes regular curated experiential trips for influencers and media to enjoy the island’s unique offerings and provide inspiration to their highly engaged audience.

In the past year alone, Emirates has included holidays to Mauritius in numerous seasonal campaigns, incentivized customers through a double Emirates Skywards promotion for stays at Marriott Hotels and partnered with RIU Resorts to promote its hospitality offering through introductory trips. To support package sales, top-performing travel agents from key source markets within the Emirates network were awarded trips to Mauritius for their contributions, received in-house training and had the opportunity to participate in presentations and webinars, sales events and roadshows focused on the destination.

Dinesh Burrenchobay, Chairman of the MTPA thanked Emirates for its continued support and efforts in serving the Mauritian tourism industry and said: “Since 2002, Emirates has played a key role in driving the number of tourists to Destination Mauritius through their Dubai hub that connects us to the rest of the world. They have also provided our destination offering and our guests with the unique A380 aircraft that is now a daily feature of SSR International Airport. We look forward to future collaborations for the benefit of the destination of Mauritius and to ensure that we achieve the bold targets set by the MTPA.”

Leading tourism growth post-pandemic
When Mauritius reopened to tourism in 2021, Emirates played a key role in the recovery of tourism in Mauritius, driving visitor numbers to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2025. The airline flew 309,000 tourists to Mauritius last year, 50% more than in 2022, when 207,000 tourists arrived.

Thanks to successful promotional efforts across its global network, Emirates has carried an increasing number of passengers to Mauritius, with tourists arriving from around 60 countries – not only from points across the Emirates network, but also from markets such as Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Romania and other European countries, transported by codeshare partner flydubai.

Mauritius in the spotlight during Emirates Holidays
Emirates Holidays, the tour operator of the Emirates Group, prominently promotes Mauritius across all its paid and owned media channels, including its digital publications, social media and global website. With increased visibility across Emirates Holidays’ global platforms, the airline is taking its support of the Mauritian tourism sector to new heights.

Mauritius remains a core destination for Emirates Holidays in key markets including the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. A growing number of customers are booking holiday packages, which often combine beach relaxation with excursions, gastronomy and cultural experiences.

Emirates Holidays’ website offers Mauritius a comprehensive offering with a dedicated landing page, curated packages and tailor-made experiences for different customer profiles, including couples, families and honeymooners.

Emirates Holidays’ destination experts provide personalized recommendations based on customer interests, from idyllic beach stays to immersive cultural experiences, presenting Mauritius as a premium, experience-rich destination to an international audience.

Rising demand, expanded connectivity and improved experiences
Mauritius continues to gain popularity among Emirates customers worldwide. According to Emirates’ latest travel trends report for summer 2025, searches for flights to Mauritius increased by 41% last summer, making the island the second most sought-after destination within the airline’s network, just behind Vietnam.

As a result, Emirates introduced a third daily flight to Mauritius to meet peak season demand, further improving connectivity and delivering a 30% increase in capacity between Dubai and the island.

In 2025, Emirates launched its new experiential Travel Store in Port-Louis, another investment in the airline’s long-standing commitment to Mauritius. The new store provides customers with an additional channel to plan trips, discover the latest Emirates products on board, get personalized ticket booking assistance and manage their travel preferences.

Emirates is currently the only airline serving the island with the A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, and the only airline to offer First Class seats on the route.

Emirates’ long-standing partnership with Mauritius dates back to 2002. Today, hundreds of Mauritians work for Emirates, from pilots and cabin crew to engineering, customer service and corporate functions.