After two years of fluctuation tied to the social events of 2011, the number of tourists coming to Mayotte is up once again, returning to the same figures as in 2010. This is what the survey of 14,500 passengers leaving the island carried out by the INSEE suggests.
52,400 TOURISTS CAME TO THE ISLAND IN 2013...
This is an increase of 14% for Mayotte compared to the previous year, while Réunion saw a decrease of 7% in the number of tourists.
“This growth is connected to the development of air traffic, which increased by 8% in 2013”, Jamie Mekkaoui from the INSEE stated, adding: “Moreover, the island has benefited from the arrival of a new company putting on a connection to Marseilles, where many Mahorais have settled”. As for the tourist profile, there is no surprise here – they come exclusively from mainland France or Réunion and are mostly classified in the “VFR (visiting friends and relatives) tourism”, as they come to visit people that they know on the island (55.3%). “But all of the overseas departments and territories destinations follow the same tourist pattern”, points out Michel Ahamed, director of the CDTM.
VFR tourism has gone up by 23% and there are also more leisure tourists, come to explore the island, than in 2012 (+18%). As for people coming to Mayotte for business reasons, the increase in numbers observed in 2012 has not been sustained (-9%).
In 2013, 28.7 million euros were spent by tourists who, on the whole, like the destination and the welcome that they are given, but who nonetheless say that it is not good value for money. Half of this expenditure is generated by VFR tourists who themselves alone represent 14.7 million euros. This high expenditure can, however, be explained by the fact that these tourists stay on the island for a long time – around thirty days on average (compared to two weeks for business tourists). Only a third of tourists rent a room in a hotel or in a holiday cottage. For 2013 this represents, among others, 4500 leisure tourists staying in hotels and similar accommodation, which confirms the trend of the island’s holiday accommodation being mainly dedicated to business tourism.
It should be noted that people visiting Mayotte for the first time happily come back for a second stay. Mayotte is a destination which is very expensive but it is one which tourists are loyal to. This positive picture emerging from the survey on tourist flow to Mayotte seems to suggest that the violence of 2011 have well and truly been forgotten, boding well for a return to growth in the number of tourists visiting the island.
THE FIGURES :
52,400 tourists in 2013, of which :
29,000 VFR tourists
11,800 leisure tourists
10,600 business trips
1000 people coming for another reason
52.5% from mainland France
40.1% from Réunion
7.3% from other countries
average length of stay : 24 days
average visitor expenditure : €23/day