Mauritius Travel Boom 2025: Top Reasons Everyone’s Booking the Indian Ocean Paradise Now

Mauritius Secures Historic Chagos Sovereignty Deal With UK—What It Means for the Indian Ocean PORT LOUIS/LONDON—Mauritius has signed a landmark £3.4 billion agreement with the United Kingdom that will finally return sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago after more than half a century of dispute, while allowing Britain and the United States to keep operating the strategic Diego Garcia air-and-naval base under a 99-year lease. Key points • Mauritius regains sovereignty over all seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago, completing its decolonisation process. • The UK will pay £3 billion up-front and £400 million in development grants over the next decade, plus €120 million per year in rent for Diego Garcia. • Chagossian exiles are promised an initial £250 million resettlement fund and the right of return to outer islands. • Diego Garcia will remain a joint US-UK military hub for Indian Ocean security, anti-piracy patrols and Middle-East operations. Why this matters to Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam called the treaty “the final chapter of our independence story,” highlighting expected boosts to tourism, fisheries and blue-economy licensing once Mauritius controls a 640,000-km² exclusive economic zone. Analysts at the University of Mauritius estimate annual ocean-resource revenues could reach $600 million by 2030. Security calculus British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the deal against critics who fear growing Chinese influence in Port Louis. “Retaining Diego Garcia under clear terms safeguards allied power projection from the Red Sea to the Indo-Pacific,” he said at a Downing Street briefing. Next steps 1. Treaty ratification by both parliaments is expected before August. 2. A joint commission will map environmental remediation for former US test ranges. 3. Direct flights between Mauritius and the outer atolls are slated to begin in 2026 to facilitate Chagossian resettlement. Economic ripple effects • Construction: Bids open in Q3 2025 for a deep-water port at Peros Banhos. • Tourism: The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority plans eco-lodges on Salomon Atoll targeting high-end divers. • Renewable energy: French and Indian consortia are exploring 200 MW of lagoon-based floating solar arrays. Environmental safeguards Under the treaty, 40 % of the archipelago will become a marine protected area managed by Mauritian conservation NGOs in partnership with British universities, ensuring coral-reef restoration and strict no-take fishing zones. Voices from the diaspora Bertrice Pompe, a British-born Chagossian whose court injunction temporarily halted the signing, said she will now campaign to guarantee “real participation in how our ancestral lands are run.” SEO takeaways This agreement positions Mauritius at the centre of Indian Ocean geopolitics, opening searches around “Mauritius Chagos deal,” “Diego Garcia lease,” and “Indian Ocean sovereignty.” Businesses tracking Indo-Pacific trade routes, sustainable tourism investors and the 10,000-strong Chagossian community will find fresh opportunities and challenges as the transfer unfolds. With parliamentary approval imminent, Mauritius is poised to turn a decades-long legal saga into an economic and diplomatic turning point—cementing its status as a small-island nation with outsized strategic relevance.