Analysis of the Tourism Sector and Employment Rates

Analysis of the Tourism Sector and Employment Rates CHAPTER 3 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS As in the previous chapter there was the theoretical and empirical literature review of impact of tourism on employment. This chapter will focus on the statistical analysis of tourism sector and employment. 3.1 Overview of Tourism sector in Mauritius Tourism sector is considered as the main pillar in the Mauritian economy. Mauritius has been experiencing rapid growth during the last few decades. The tourism sector is supervised by theMinistry of Tourism and Leisure, theMauritius Tourism Promotion Authority(MTPA) promotes Mauritius locally and internationally. The Mauritian economy has been continually changing and growing during the last ten years. As the Mauritian economy was dominated by the agriculture of sugarcane and then by the textile industry, the Mauritian economy now positions itself towards flourishing sectors such as tourism. Tourist arrivals in Mauritius have been increasing drastically during the last few years. This increased in tourist’s arrival has generated a lot of employment opportunities for the local people. Mauritius has experienced an increase of 3.7% of the number of tourist arrivals in the month of January 2014 compared to the month of January 2013 according to the statistic of Mauritius. The Tourism Authority is responsible for regulating, licensing and supervising the activities of tourists enterprises. The Association des Hà ´teliers et Restaurateurs de là ®le Maurice (AHRIM) is a non-profitable organization was set up in 1973 to represent and develop the interests of hotels and restaurants in Mauritius 3.2 Tourism Flows Mauritius was a late starter in competing for international tourist. In 1968 only 15,553 tourists visited Mauritius. The government provided initiatives for developing the tourism economy by improving the infrastructural road and by providing facilities at the international airport. In the first ten years of independence, there has been significant increase in tourist arrivals reaching 108,322 in 1978 and it reached 128,360 in year 1979. However, in year 1983 tourist arrival had decreased to 124,000. Since 1983 there has been a consistent increase in arrivals of tourist and 374,639 tourists were recorded in 1993. Tourism has benefited from an increasing proportion of credit from commercial banks during this period. Government has been consistently investing in the tourist industry by improving and expanding transport , harbour facilities, modernising the airport and the provision of education and training for hotel and catering industry. Tourists arrivals increased by 177,599 over the period 1994 to 1999 from 400,526 to 578,085. Thus from year 2000 to year 2013 tourist arrivals has been increasing year by year as Mauritius has been able to compete with its competitors and is becoming the dynamic industry for Mauritius 3.3 Trend of tourism in Mauritius Trend in Mauritius tourism is considered as a flourishing industry in the island. There is no denying fact that tourist arrival in Mauritius has been increasing year by year as Mauritius is considered as a paradise island which attract numerous tourist in the island. figure 3.3 From figure 3.3 it can be noted that during the year 2010 till the year of 2013, there has been a continuous increased in tourist arrival in Mauritius. From the year 2013 till the month of February 2014, there has been a significant increase of 300,000 tourist arrival in the economy. The statistics from the beginning of the nine months in the year 2013 has recorded that there has been a decrease of 2.3 % in the arrival of tourists from European countries. However in the other hand, Mauritius has experienced an increased in its arrival of tourist from other countries such as Malaysia (48.9%), china (97.1%), Singapore (12.9%), Japan (3.3%), Hong Kong (16.6), Africa (2.9%) and Unite Arab Emirates (63.8%). Thus it can be deduced that there is an increase trend of tourist arrival in Mauritius. These figures clearly show the global tourism trend and most of the arrival of tourist in Mauritius was from the Asian market. The statistics estimated an increased in the tourist arrival in the year 2014 as Asian market seems to become a prominent market for Mauritius. The statistician of Mauritius predicted that the figure of increased tourist arrival will be around 1.03 million. The Mauritius statistics data revealed that particularly Asia and china seem to be dynamic tourism for the Mauritian economy. The Mauritius tourism promotion authority is promoting Mauritius abroad as a tourist destination by doing more and advertising campaigns and by participating in tourism fairs and it is making promotional expedition and activities in Mauritius and internationally. The government has expanded the SSR international airport so that it can accommodate more tourists so that tourism sector in Mauritius becomes a well recognised market in international level. Many countries consider tourism as an engine for future development offering diverse opportunities. Technological advances are making travel easier and increasing the number of people who are travelling annually to spend their holiday. For small and large enterprise, those searching for employment and communities wanting to promote their culture and tradition, tourism are an easy industry to enter. Table 3.3: percentage changed in tourist arrivals ( Source: CSO Mauritius) From the above table it can be deduced that Mauritius has experience a total increase of 2.9 % in year 2013 from the year 2012. It has received a significant increase of tourist arrival from China which is 100.7 %. Thus China is becoming a leading market for China. The government has increased the number of flights per week to china so that it can boost up the economy by receiving more tourists and this will generate economic growth in the country. In addition the government is also taking initiative to make Mauritius a platform for medical tourism. More and more tourists are coming to Mauritius for the medical purpose also. According to the Tourism Office of Mauritius, South Africa exceeded UK visitors in 2012 and 40,490 South Africans visited Mauritius in year 2013 in contrast with a total of tourists of 89,058 in 2012. Thus Africans are showing great interest towards Mauritius for holiday destination. The room occupancy rates in Mauritius experience an uneven trend during the review period. According to statistics of Mauritius the occupancy rate decreased from 68.0% in 2008 to 61.0% in 2009 as there was a decline in demand from European travellers due to the euro zone sovereign debt crisis. In year 2011 there was recovery as the occupancy rate raised to 65.0 %. However as there was an excessive increase in the supply of hotel rooms in 2012, the occupancy rate decreased again in year 2012 as it reached 62.0 %. According toStatistics Mauritius, total passenger arrivals to Mauritius in year 2011 were 1,294,387 and tourist arrivals for the year attained 964,642.In year 2012 emerging markets,Russian people andPeople from China, registered positive growths of 58.9% and 38.0% respectively. According to theBank of Mauritiusthe gross tourism receipts wasRs44 billion in 2012. The forecast number of tourist arrival for 2013 is 1 million that is there has been a continuous increase in the development of the tourist industry in Mauritius. 3.4 Table Actual Tourism receipt Source: BOM statistics Table shows that revenue of tourist has been increasing year after year. However in year 2009 it has experienced a decreased of 13.3% from tourism revenue. Despite the decreased of tourism revenue in 2009 it has continue to increase which shows that more tourists has been spending their money in Mauritius and there has been an increased in tourist arrivals in the economy. The tourism industry of Mauritius has acquired a high level of excellence and international fame. It has also generated a large supply of foreign currency along with the creation of employment in relation to the tourism industry. 3.4 Trend of employment in Mauritius Table 3.5 Employment rate (source c.s.o) From table 3.5 it can be noted that compared with the corresponding quarter of 2012, there has been an increase in the labour force (+13,300) with an increase in both employment (+13,100) and in unemployment (+200). Compared with the previous quarter, labour force showed an increase of 2,000 in year 2013 with an increase in employment (+4,400) and a decrease in unemployment (-2,400). Thus there has been a positive trend in the employment in Mauritius as more and more people are being employed. According to travel and tourism economic impact 2013 Travel Tourism (Mauritius) created 69,500 employment directly in 2012 (12.1% of total employment) and this is forecast to increase by 2.2% in 2013 to 71,000 (12.2% of total employment). This includes employment by hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services. It also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists. By the year 2023, Travel Tourism will account for 95,000 jobs directly, an increase of 2.9% over the next decades. This shows that there is a continuous increase of employment trend in the tourism sector for the future of Mauritius. Table 3.6 shows the number of people employed for the period of 2000 to 2013 in the tourism industry. It can be noted that there has been a continuous increase in total employment in the tourism sector from year 2000 to year 2013. That is more and more people are being employed in the tourism sector during the last decades. Thus tourism sector is becoming a promising industry as it is generating numerous employments in the country which is beneficial for the economy of Mauritius. In 2012, the total workforce in hotels and restaurants represented 40000 workers that is, it represented a total of 7% workforce. The labour force is known for its high level of customer care. About 7500 unemployed people have got work experience in hotel and restaurant sector. Thus the labour force is increasing significantly. Moreover, the Mauritian tourist industry is no longer an absorber of low skilled labour. Government has taken necessary initiative to intensify the level of training and education of workers who were already working in the industry and also for potential workers who are seeking job in the tourism sector. Mauritius has a number of high level training institutions, both public and private, offering both formal and on the job placement in the hotels for operational, supervisory and managerial personnel. Some are specialised technical and vocational training institutions and others are universities. Numerous institutes in Mauritius are providing courses of professional standards for the tourism study as Vatel institute which has recently been set up in Mauritius. At present, we have a well trained and well educated labour force in the tourist industry. As a conclusion it can be noted that there has been a continuous increase in the trend of tourism and employment. Tourism is creating more and more employment both directly and indirectly in the Mauritian economy. Mauritius has become a tourist destination for many countries thus the number of tourist arrival is increasing significantly. It is generating more and more employment in the country which is boosting the economy. Government are taking initiatives to promote the tourism sector as this sector is creating economic growth.