Alleged sniffing: What is it about?
You would have heard of this by now. The ex-CEO of the national telecommunication company, Sherry Singh, accuses the State of spying on Mauritians with the complicity of the Indian government. The State has repeatedly denied this. Here's what this is about.
"Sniffing" consists of monitoring Internet traffic by collecting data and then decrypting it. In other words, this technique consists of analyzing network traffic of everyone connected on a network.
The scandal: It has been said that an Indian team allegedly came to Mauritius and went to the 'landing station' of Baie-du-Jacotet where the SAFE cable is located. For six hours, this team is supposed to have had access to tons of information.
According to the different documents that have surfaced, the Indian technicians would have made data captures on the SAFE network.
The police investigation is still ongoing. Sherry Singh has been questioned several times by the investigators. The Prime Minister has denied allowing a third party (India) to access our network, our secure data.
Tourism: more than 470,000 tourists in the first half of 2022
Tourism is gradually returning to its pre-pandemic pace. From January 1st to June 31st, 470,640 tourists visited Mauritius. Last year, the country only had 4,467 tourists during the first half of the year. In July 2022 alone, Mauritius recorded 94,084 arrivals, an increase of 31,076 visitors over June.
The European market dominates tourist arrivals with 322,961 tourists during the first half of the year. France remains the leader with 112,120 visitors having chosen Mauritius as their holiday destination. The British and Germans follow with 69,849 and 45,855 respectively.
Also, 91,885 visitors from African and Indian Ocean countries visited Mauritius from January to July. Out of this number, South Africa dominates the market with 49,926 tourists ahead of Reunion Island (25,976). In Asia, 45,971 tourists came to Mauritius, including 19,137 visitors from India.
It should be noted that the hotels are currently 85% full during this season, usually considered the low season. Th end of the year season is looking promising.
In addition, the airline Emirates is planning three daily flights to Mauritius from October 1. It will also offer 30 to 40 tons worth of cargo to businesses.
