Marie-Angèle Armand,
Director of Concorde incoming agency
Is the incentive market growing?
Marie-Angèle Armand - Since the last Top Resa, we've been receiving more and more requests, and we've got a lot of confirmed groups. In November and December 2010, we welcomed 11 French groups. The mood is clearly one of recovery.
Which activities work best?
M.-A. A. - There are rallies to help participants discover the different aspects of Mauritius and its people, as well as the island's flavours through a taste workshop; a regatta in a traditional pirogue; and the gotcha, a GPS-assessed sports rally which, depending on the terrain, combines sequences on quad bikes, buggies and Segways.
Cultural highlights include the Tea Route and, of course, the garden and village of Pamplemousses, its church where Paul and Virginie met and its cemetery where Emmeline de Carcenac is buried, "the creole lady of unknown charms from Baudelaire's poem. Finally, for the festive side of the trip, the magic emanating from the colourful Indian Bollywood evenings is much appreciated, as is the barefoot dinner jacket dinner on the beach.
Is Mauritius still a top-of-the-range destination?
M.-A. A. - I'd say it's more of a quality destination, because in total we only have 20 to 30 business seats per flight. And yet the island receives some 900,000 visitors a year, most of whom travel economy class. On the other hand, charter flights don't serve the island, and it's clear that in terms of quality of service, Mauritius makes a big difference to the Maldives or Mediterranean destinations.
