With direct flights to Southeast Asia, many Bengalureans skip Mauritius

BENGALURU: Passenger traffic from Bengaluru to what was earlier a popular international destination — Mauritius — has fallen by 50% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to last year, according to the latest Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) report.
Travel agents attribute this fall in numbers to increase in airfares even as direct flights were commissioned to other short-haul international destinations such as Phuket, Krabi and Bali at economic rates.
As per the report, a meagre 1,264 passengers travelled from Bengaluru to Mauritius in the first quarter of this year, against 2,558 in the corresponding period last year and 2,226 in 2017. About 15,925 people travelled to Phuket alone in the first quarter of this year.
This slump in passenger traffic to Mauritius is expected to be temporary and likely to pick up by the second half of 2019.
“Some airlines have introduced direct flights, priced at an economical rate, to a few Southeast Asian countries. GoAir has started direct flights to Phuket and AirAsia to Krabi, which has seen a surge in demand for these regions. Bali is another destination, which has seen a rise in demand due to direct flights. So, of late, there has been a slump in demand for visitors travelling to Mauritius,” said Anand Menon, brand leader, Travel Tours, Leisure Travel Brand of FCM Travel Solutions. “We’ll see some momentum from July as Mauritius is still one of the top-preferred destinations for honeymoon travellers,” he added.
Travel agent Ixigo pointed out that there has been a 50% decrease in bookings and search enquiries for Bengaluru-Mauritius flights in 2019.
“Bengalureans prefer destinations that offer more competitive travel rates like Bali, Thailand and Maldives. These destinations also offer the added advantage of visa-on-arrival facilities for travellers,” said Rajnish Kumar, co-founder, Ixigo.