Air Mauritius launched a direct charter flight route from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province, to Mauritius on Feb 5 to further promote business and travel ties between western China and Mauritius.

It is the first air route from western China to Africa, making Chengdu the fourth Chinese city to have a direct flight to Mauritius, following Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The flight takes 9.5 hours, saving at least 6 hours compared to before. Passengers traveling to Mauritius from western China had to transfer in Hong Kong or Abu Dhabi previously.

The route is expected to bring more Chinese tourists to Mauritius.

Around 100,000 Chinese tourists visited Mauritius in 2014, an increase of more than 60 percent compared to the previous year，according to Pierre Sydney, chairman of the Mauritius Ministry of Tourism. Tourists with Chinese passports are allowed to stay in Mauritius for two weeks without a visa.

Direct air routes from Chengdu to Egypt and Sri Lanka are also expected to open this month. Chengdu has 80 international routes. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport received about 37.7 million passengers in 2014.