page_title: Mauritius
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Mauritius / Economy / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: Beach in Mauritius - Trou-aux-BichesFrançais&#160;: Plage à l'île maurice - Trou-aux-Biches
context_page_description: Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres off the south-east coast of the African continent. It includes the eponymous main island of Mauritius and Rodrigues, Agaléga and St. Brandon. The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues form part of the Mascarene Islands, along with nearby Réunion, a French overseas department. The capital and largest city, Port Louis, is located on Mauritius, where most of the population is concentrated. The country spans 2,040 square kilometres and has an Exclusive Economic Zone covering 2.3 million square kilometres.
  Arab sailors were possibly the first to discover the uninhabited island around 975, which they called Dina Arobi. The earliest confirmed discovery was in 1507 by Portuguese sailors, who otherwise took little interest in the islands. The Dutch took possession in 1598, establishing a succession of short-lived settlements before abandoning their efforts in 1710. France took control in 1715, renaming it Isle de France. About a century later, it ceded Mauritius and its dependencies to Great Britain. As a British colony, Mauritius included Rodrigues, Agalega, St.
context_section_description: Mauritius is a major tourist destination, the tourism sector is the fourth contributor to the Mauritian economy. The island nation enjoys a tropical climate with clear warm sea waters, beaches, tropical fauna and flora complemented by a multi-ethnic and cultural population. The forecast of tourist arrivals for the year 2019 is maintained at 1,450,000, representing an increase of 3.6% over the figure of 1,399,408 in 2018.
  Mauritius currently has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, namely, Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne Cultural Landscape. Additionally, Black River Gorges National Park is currently in the UNESCO tentative list.
caption: A tropical beach in Trou-aux-Biches
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