Sun, Sand and no inheritance tax fuel property boom in Mauritius

Sun, Sand and no inheritance tax fuel property boom in Mauritius

The Mont Choisy Golf & Beach Estate Clubhouse. Photographer: Kamlesh Bhuckory/Bloomberg



With its long stretches of white-sand beaches, blue lagoons and lack of inheritance tax, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has long been a beloved destination for high-net-worth individuals in search of seclusion.

Now, a new player is upping the ante for leisure-seekers. Kerzner International, developer of the Atlantis The Royal – the ultra-luxury Dubai hotel that recently hosted Beyonce in a $100,000-a-night suite – is investing about $100 million in 52 ultra-exclusive villas on Mauritius’s eastern coast. Prices for properties on the former nine-hole golf course range from $2.8 million for a two-bedroom unit to $14.4 million for a seafront villa.

Interest has been robust, with more than 80% of all available units in final negotiations, the developer said in January. Only “a few units” with the four-bedroom configuration have yet to be sold.

Property is a key source of direct investment in Mauritius, which relies mostly on tourism and manufacturing exports for foreign currency. Between 2014 and mid-2022, foreign direct investment in high-end property totaled 63.3 billion rupees ($1.368 billion), or roughly 40% of all inflow, according to the Bank of Mauritius. As real estate has boomed, that number