Tourism revenue in the Indian Ocean Island surged almost 70% to $779m in the first five months of the year compared with the same period in 2022, data published by the central bank last week showed. Receipts are forecast to rise 23% to 80-billion rupees for the full year, Harvesh Seegolam, the bank’s governor, said last month. Tourist arrivals surged 58% to 596,446 in the first half compared with the year-ago period, the national statistics agency said earlier this month. The number of visitors from France jumped 60% and from Germany by 36%, while those from Russia almost doubled.