Mauritius hopes to boost its struggling real estate sector by allowing foreigners to buy rooms and suites in new hotel developments after a slowdown in bank lending, an official said.

The Indian Ocean island’s tourism and luxury property sectors have taken a battering in 2009 as the global economic downturn curbs demand for high-end destinations.

“Hotel promoters are already factoring the Invest Hotel scheme into their plans because for them it means equity,” Dev Chamroo, director of planning and policy at Mauritius’s Board of Investment (BOI), told Reuters.

Under the project, buyers will get 45 days’ use a year of their room or suite plus a share of the income from tourist occupancy at other times.

Mauritius Commercial Bank told Reuters last week it expects corporate loans in general to slow during this financial year as big spending projects are held up.

Tourism is a key driver of the nation’s $9 billion economy and a leading source of foreign exchange. Mauritius hopes to more than double the number of visitors to its beaches to 2 million a year by 2015.

“The idea behind the scheme is to allow promoters to raise finances more easily as financing through the banks is getting more difficult with restrictive conditions,” said real estate consultant Frankie Tang.

“This is expected to speed up the development of hotels.” Regulations were officially approved on October1, the BOI said.

Source: http://af.reuters.com

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