Textile tycoon Dilip Jiwarajka has become the first person to make use of a new tourism initiative by Mauritius to attract the big fat Indian weddings to the picturesque country.
Jiwarajka of family-owned Jiwaraj Textiles Industries Ltd, has chosen Mauritius to wed his daughter, Srita to Amit Puri, and the wedding is scheduled to take place from November 26 to 29.
This wedding will be the first such affair under the new declared tourism policy aimed at attracting the Indian wedding market to the country, Sudesh Lallchand, senior advisor of tourism minister, said on Friday.
Three resort hotels -- Intercontinental, Grand Mauritian and Le Meridien, located in the northern part of the island, have been booked by the Jiwarajka to accommodate a thousand special guests coming from India, England, Pakistan and the United States.
The guests will arrive through three chartered flights from Air Mauritius and a private jet, Lallchand added.
Four days of joyful festivities have been scheduled to entertain the guests, and present will be the well-known music director duo of Sajid-Wajid.
This first wedding is being considered by the tourism ministry as a major breakthrough in its attempt to target high net worth Indian families to hold marriage ceremonies in this country, whose main forex earner is tourism.
"It's important to diversify our tourist products through new growth markets," said Tourism Minister Nandkumar Bodha, who recently led a business delegation comprising 30 companies to India and met the travel trade people in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.
Two other weddings are in the pipeline. Bodha said that Mauritius is offering a red carpet welcome to these groups and is providing all infrastructure and facilities.
Mauritius is positioning itself within the Indian wedding market, competing with countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, Cayman Island, Malaysia and Singapore, internationally known in this market.
Currently, the share of Indian tourists visiting the island is six to seven per cent, Lallchand said, adding their target is to increase it to 11-12 per cent within the next five years.
Some 36,255 Indians visited Mauritius for the nine months ending September 30, a 30 per cent increase compared to last year, said a statement issued by Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority.
