With its beautiful landscapes, turquoise waters, warm temperature and safe environment, Africa’s Mauritius has become the Indian Ocean’s leading tourism destination. However, with the pandemic, its tourism sector began teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
Hospitality staff were laid off of work, and the collapse took an almost $1.45 billion chunk out of the nation’s annual gross domestic product. Now, the island nation is working to recover by expanding its premium visa to digital nomads.
The goal is to attract international tourists to visit Mauritius and return to the figures of the pre-pandemic era. The premium-visa allows people to work remotely from the country for as long as a year, Nilen Vencadasmy, chairman of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, told Bloomberg on February 28th.
“We are looking for digital nomads, who can plug in and start working from anywhere in the world,” he said in an interview.
To apply, you will need to show proof of your long-term visit, as well as have travel and health insurance for at least the initial part of your stay. You must be a tourist, retiree, or professional traveling with family but intending to work remotely.
Vencadasmy told Bloomberg that about 2,000 applications for the premium visa have been approved so far, adding that the island’s relatively advanced business infrastructure is an advantage.
“The average length of tourism stays has gone up to about 15 nights from 10 before the pandemic, pushing average revenue per tourist to 84,000 rupees from 45,000 rupees. Some of that is due to currency depreciation,” Vencadasmy said.
“We assumed that people would travel less, but for longer periods. And this is exactly what we are witnessing since we’ve reopened,” he added.
To learn more about the island nation’s visa options, you can visit the website: mymauritius.travel. TN fam, could you see yourself working from the beaches of Mauritius?
