Mauritius' travel industry had a record year in 2017, outperforming official predictions for tourism arrivals.

The island attracted more than 1.34 million visitors, according to statistics released by the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA). Officials attribute the continued growth to a variety of factors including increased air access.

"Over the past few years, we've witnessed a number of key international airlines either introducing new flights, increasing their number of flights per week or bolstering capacities on existing flights to the island," Hubert Golay, vice-president of international hospitality real estate and leisure consulting firm, HTI Consulting, said in a statement.

The idyllic island has also been consistently present among international rankings of top destinations to visit from such news organizations as CNN, Cond�� Nast, Travel and Leisure, Lonely Planet, Golay pointed out.

"Mauritius is also widely regarded as a safe destination and, as such, has gained popularity as several other destinations have unfortunately suffered losses in arrivals due to safety and terrorism concerns," Golay said.

The growth in visitors has been a boon for the island's hotel industry. In the five-star market on the island, occupancy rates increased 9.3 percent in 2017, compared to 8.9 percent the previous year. The current figures are also a significant improvement over the 1.9 percent gain in 2015, Golay said.

"With occupancy rates on the rise, these hotels also showed a sound growth of 8.4 percent in Average Daily Rates (ADR)," Golay continued. "The Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar) value for these hotels increased by 12.1 percent during the year, with a substantial 29.8 percent increase in RevPar in December 2017 versus December 2016."

In terms of hotel offerings, the island has everything from midscale business hotels to luxury resorts, which make up the bulk of the market. The island has the largest presence of international hotel groups of any country in Africa. Brands that have a property on the island include Rezidor, Starwood/Marriott (with several brands), Accor, Hilton, IHG, Lux, Four Seasons, One&Only, Club Med, RIU, Outrigger, Shangri-la, Beachcomber, Oberoi, Angsana, Constance, Attitude and Veranda.

The island's tourism boom may also be tied to several initiatives kicked-off by the Mauritian government and tourism authorities over the past few years, including government efforts to promote economic diversification, a favorable business climate and solid infrastructure.

In late 2015, Mauritius introduced a two-year moratorium on hotel development.

"Under the ban, only hotels already under construction were allowed to open. This enabled existing hotels to undertake refurbishments without the threat of new supply coming into the market and allowed newly refurbished properties time to stabilize and benefit from higher rates and occupancy and, ultimately, better operating profits," explained Golay.

Also in 2015, Mauritius developed a new hotel classification system aimed at providing visitors with reliable information regarding hotel quality.

"Combined with the ban, the system aimed to encourage existing hoteliers to invest in upgrades in order to achieve better rankings," Golay said.

There are also plans to train employees on the island to cater to the demands of travelers from emerging markets such as mainland China and India, including accommodating the culinary and cultural habits of such travelers.

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