(Bloomberg) — The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has long been a beloved destination for tourists drawn to its long stretches of white-sand beaches, blue lagoons and coral reefs.

Now, it is gearing up to attract more affluent golf enthusiasts. The 2,040 square kilometers (788 square miles) island — about half the size of Rhode Island — is seeking to lure them with high-end courses. Its 11th such facility, the Harmonie Beachcomber Golf Course designed by Olivier Dongradi, who’s also behind the Château d’Augerville club in France, is scheduled to open in 2026. La Reserve Golf Links, in the remote southern part of Mauritius, opened last year and was signed-off by Peter Matkovich and Louis Oosthuizen. 

About 5% of tourists visiting Mauritius come for golf courses, or about 60,000 visitors, said François Eynaud, chief executive officer of Sun Ltd., a luxury hotel operator. They tend to be high-spending guests with considerable purchasing power compared with a regular visitor, he said. “We can reasonably assume that a golfer will spend 10% to 15% more,” Eynaud said.

Tourism is Mauritius’ main source of foreign currency. The sector was upended by Covid-19 lockdowns and travel bans, and visitor numbers are only expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year with earnings estimated to exceed 90 billion rupees ($1.9 billion), according to the Economic Development Board. Golf tourism could boost that further.

The global market is expected to grow by 52% to $35 billion by 2029, driven by government initiatives to promote golf tourism, increasing interest in outdoor sports events and a rising number of young enthusiasts, according to Research and Markets.  

Mauritius plans to use golf tournaments to increase visitor numbers. “It’s one area where Mauritius can really have more visibility, having more celebrities, golf champions coming to the island,” said Sydney Pierre, an avid golfer, who was recently appointed junior tourism minister. “Our ministry should and will encourage more golf championships coming to the island, to the destination,” he said in an interview Dec. 8 at the MCB Tour Championship in Belle Mare on the east coast.

The tournament, part of the Legends Tour, is played on the Legends Golf Course, the nation’s first designer links. The island’s biggest event — the European Tour’s $1.5 million AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open — will take place later this month at Mont Choisy Le Golf in the northwestern part of the country. Last year, the tournament won by South Africa’s Oosthuizen had a broadcast reach of more than 500 million households worldwide.

“Over the past decade, golf has evolved into a significant niche market of the Mauritian destination,” said Karine Curé, chief brand & communication officer of New Mauritius Hotels Ltd., the country’s biggest resort operator by revenue, which trades under the Beachcomber brand. 

Mauritius has more top-quality courses than its fiercest rivals for tourists in the Indian Ocean, such as the archipelagos of Seychelles and Maldives.

Golf is an almost two-century-old sport in the nation of 1.26 million people. In 1844, Mauritius became the fourth country where golf was introduced by the British military, after Scotland, England and India, according to the Mauritius Gymkhana Club.

Other courses in its repertoire include the Ile aux Cerfs Golf Club, designed by two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer and reachable after an eight-minute boat trip from the mainland. 

Anahita Golf Club, by South African four-time major champion Ernie Els, is in the seaside village of Trou d’Eau Douce. 

“When you look at the amount of golf courses around the island, it’s an area that we should promote. Definitely, it’s an area of opportunities for the destination,” Pierre said.

–With assistance from Chris Miller.

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