The inaugural edition of the Bleisure Trade and Investment Forum, an initiative of South African Group NKPI Holdings in collaboration with the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) and Economic Development Board (EDB), was held on 27 March at Sugar Beach Resort, Flic-en-Flac, Mauritius.
The hybrid event saw the participation of 40 delegates comprising 15 representatives from public and private sector from Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia who travelled to Mauritius to attend the forum.
Samantha Seewoosurrun, Managing Director of Perpetual Motion and co-founder of Platform Africa, as MC and moderator of the event, highlighted in her introductory remarks that the concept of ‘bleisure’ encourages growth and development while creating job opportunities, not only through tourism but through other business and government avenues for the country which the conference is being hosted in. She noted that Mauritius ‘ticks all the boxes’ as the statistics prove that it is a great country for investments and new business.
Harnessing the immense potential of Mauritius as a MICE destination
In his welcome remarks, Mr. Arvind Bundhun, CEO of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, underlined that Mauritius is the perfect destination for those who wish to incorporate adventure, exploration, and relaxation into their trips. He added that the main objective of this exclusive summit is to promote Mauritius, investment and trade opportunities and to enhance the country’s profile as one of the best tourism destinations for MICE in Africa. Moreover, the summit provides a platform to unlock trade and investment with Mauritius and other countries in Africa while promoting the region for tourism. The CEO of MTPA also highlighted that Bleisure travel is transforming the hospitality industry, fusing time in the boardroom with time at the beach, combining work and vacation.
On the other hand, Mr. Vinay Guddye, Director of Financial Services & Africa Regional Office, provided a comprehensive overview of the attractiveness of Mauritius as the gateway for cross border investment in the keynote address. He emphasised that the Mauritius International Financial Centre has successfully structured investment to the tune of USD 187 bn to India & USD 82 bn to Africa, making Mauritius the most prominent IFC for Africa. Moreover, the investment mediated by Mauritius further supports tax revenues for several African states cumulating to USD 6 billion annually. Mr. Guddye underlined the necessity for Africa to have a reliable, trusted and risk mitigating IFC to fervently advocate for funds, talents, and know-how onto the continent and stated that Mauritius is well-positioned to help Africa move up the value chain and achieve its developmental goals.
Bleisure as a concept that drives Inter-Intra Africa Trade and Investment
Ms. Dimakatso Malwela, Managing Director, Bleisure Africa asserted that Bleisure is a concept that drives Inter-Intra Africa Trade and Investment through Travel & Tourism and is one of the buildup events to the Africa Continental Trade and Investment Summit to be held later in the year. She underlined that the main objective of this exclusive conference is to promote and unlock Africa’s Investment & Trade opportunities and to enhance Mauritius’ profile as one of the best Tourism Destinations for MICE in Africa. It is worth noting that Mauritius has secured its position as the leading Indian Ocean MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) destination, with the tropical paradise island earning the prestigious Indian Ocean’s Best MICE Destination 2022 award at the third annual World MICE Awards.
The forum comprised three highly interactive panels namely, Exploring Trade and Investment Opportunities in Africa & the AfCFTA, Enhancing Africa Economic Recovery through Tourism and Global Opportunities for Africa (International Companies) where a number of key delegates and sector experts across several fields in Africa have shared their insights.
