Mauritius tourism sector

Analysis

Porter 's Five Forces According to the latest report of the Economic Intelligence Unit (16 November 2007 , the world travel and tourism industry is expected to record its fourth consecutive year of growth in 2007 , following a downturn that began in the wake of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks on the US . This bouncing back is impressive , given subsequent large-scale terrorist attacks (often directly targeting tourists health pandemics , a tsunami and the war in Iraq . All of this points to a shifting mindset among tourists , who are now much

more battle-hardened and less likely to be deterred by perceived geopolitical risks . This should spell well for the industry 's ability to ride external shocks

This industry will be analyzed taking hotel operators as market players and the tourists as the buyers . Buyer power is moderate because although the expenditure by incoming visitors should increase by an impressive 12 .4 percent to US 710 billion in 2007 (compared to 8 percent rise in 2006 , buyers are generally price sensitive (Economic Intelligence Unit 16 November 2007 . In the hotel industry , brand recognition is also important to attract consumers in a competitive and mature industry . A strong brand image helps to attract first-time customers and also repeat business , as switching costs are negligible in this industry . Despite that international tourist arrivals worldwide beat all expectations exceeding 800 million and achieving an all-time record (World Tourism Organization , February 2008 their buyer power is reduced because they are fragmented and seeking cheaper alternatives . Also , the impact of losing one customer is not a significant threat to the hotel business

Suppliers in the hotel market are defined as the travel agents , property owners , developers and real estate companies , interior design and furnishings companies , architects , management and training service providers and marketing companies . As the tourism industry is labor intensive , the quality and availability of supplier services and equipment is essential to the hotel and motel industry . Hotel operators are reliant upon sophisticated technology and systems including technology utilized for property management , procurement and reservation systems which strengthen supplier power . The quality of training providers is also vital as skilled employees can boost hotel industry revenues . Staff costs are significant as success in the hotel industry is strongly influenced by the quality of the service provided . This is why supplier power is assessed as moderate

The threat of new entry is moderate . According to the report of the World Tourism Organization (February 2008 , tourism market by region showed that Africa recorded the best growth in arrivals last year 9 followed by Asia and the Pacific 8 , the Americas and the Middle East 6 each ) and Europe 4 . The hotel industry is strongly influenced by travel and tourism trends . With tourism on the rise , hotel operators will benefit . These opportunities make the market attractive to new entrants . It is possible to enter the industry in a relatively low-key way by opening a small , independent hotel or motel as a sole proprietor However , the industry is capital...