Indian Ocean Tourism Shows Resilience and Strong Momentum in January 2026

The Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Mauritius (AHRIM) has released its latest Industry Performance Communiqué on tourist arrivals for the month of January 2026. The data, compiled from official statistics across the four key island destinations, reveals a solid start to the year for Indian Ocean tourism, with all destinations posting positive growth despite some market-specific variations.

Regional Overview:

Looking at the region as a whole (across the four destinations), there was a total of approximately 479,666 visitors in January 2026, up from 442,708 the previous year — an overall regional increase of roughly 8.3%.

• Zanzibar led the pack with a robust +19.2% growth, welcoming over 100 000 visitors (up from 84,069).
• Mauritius recorded 125,871 arrivals, a healthy +7.7% rise from 116,926.
• Seychelles grew +7.2% to 28,791 visitors (from 26,850).
• Maldives posted a more moderate +4.6% increase to 224,788 arrivals (from 214,863).

These figures reflect continued recovery and diversification of source markets, even as some traditional long-haul markets showed some mixed results.

MAURITIUS:

As we take a closer look at the Island of Mauritius, what is clear is that there is steady growth driven by the European market, with France remaining the undisputed leader, delivering 29,179 arrivals (which is an increase of 9.3% in visitor numbers, and accounting for a 23.2% market share). Reunion Island followed closely with 15,613 visitors (an increase of 3.2%, accounting for 12.4% share).

Additionally there were a number of standout performers which has huge increase in terms of percentage when looking at the numbr of visitors. These included:

• Germany (+43.9% to 10,305)
• Russia (+51.4% to 4,935)
• India (+32.1% to 4,716)
• Austria (+32.9%),
• Poland (+24.7%), and
• Ukraine (+43.0%)

There were however challenges that were seen when looking at key African and long-haul markets: South Africa saw a decrease of 5.7% to 9,760 visitors), The UK was down by 11.4% to 9,085, and the USA down by 21.2%), and China down by 33.8%. However, despite these dips, Mauritius maintained strong overall momentum in terms of increased number of visitors.

MALDIVES:

Taking a deeper dive into the visitors to the Maldives, what is clear is that the influx of visitors from Russia and Europe have offset the decline from China. As Russia surged to become the top contributor in terms of the number of visitors within the market with 29,370 arrivals (indicative of a 34.5% increase, and making up 13.1% share of all visitors), followed by Italy in second place  with 23,171 visitors, an increase of 17.1%) and the UK (accounting for 20,478 visitors, and increase of 7.7%). It is important to note that Germany also grew nicely with an increase of 12.0% to now be at 14,028 visitors.

A notable decrease came from China, which fell sharply by 36.9% to only 22,676 arrivals, yet the destination still achieved positive overall growth thanks to strong European and Russian demand.

SEYCHELLES:

As we take a closer look at the Seychelles, Russia again accounted for nearly one in five arrivals (5,418 visitors, an 18.8% share), with an increase amounting to 28.7%,), which has positively cemented its position as the leading market. Germany accounted for 3,142 visitors, an increase of 17.2% and Italy  with 1,224 visitors, up a total of 27.4% deliveing healthy gains, while France grew modestly by 4.1% to 2,045.

However, visitors from the UK saw a significant decline down 22.1% to just over a thousand visitors in January (1,161), but the destination’s overall 7.2% growth reflects broad-based European strength.

ZANZIBAR:

Lastly, Zanzibar saw explosive Growth, led by Italy and South Africa, delivering the region’s strongest performance. Italy topped the charts with 14,472 arrivals (a 23.4% increase and a 14.4% share), followed by France (6,916), Poland, Germany, and a spectacular performance from South Africa of 5,931 arrivals, a staggering 108.5% — the largest single-market jump across all destinations).

Other notable gains included India with a 93.6% increase and several smaller European markets. The destination continues to benefit from its growing appeal as an affordable, high-value alternative in the region.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Europe remains the backbone of Indian Ocean tourism, with France, Germany, Italy, and Russia driving growth across all four destinations.
• Russia’s continued strength is remarkable, topping charts in Maldives and Seychelles and showing double-digit growth elsewhere.
• Zanzibar’s breakout performance signals rising interest in newer destinations, particularly from South Africa and Italy.
• Diversification is working — even where traditional markets (UK, China, USA) softened, other segments more than compensated.

The January 2026 figures provide an encouraging start to the year and underline the resilience of the Indian Ocean tourism cluster. Full-year projections will depend on sustained air connectivity, targeted marketing, and continued recovery in key long-haul markets.

The complete report is available at www.ahrim.mu. AHRIM will continue to monitor monthly performance and share insights with industry stakeholders.

Source: Statistics Mauritius, Maldives Ministry of Tourism, Seychelles National Bureau of Statistics, Office of the Chief Government Statistician Zanzibar.

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