PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Air Mauritius reduced its pretax loss in the six months ending in September to 3.07 million euros from 8.91 million euros a year earlier on the back of higher passenger traffic, the airline said in a statement on Thursday. The Indian Ocean island national carrier said the number of passengers carried rose 1.4 percent in the first half to 618,868. It said in a statement that this was achieved by seeking more business in emerging markets. Mauritius is a popular holiday destination, but the fragile economic situation in Europe has hit the airline and the island's tourism industry hard. The airline said pretax profits rose in the second quarter to 5.0 million euros from 1.25 million euros a year ago. Shares in Air Mauritius closed down 1.09 percent at 13.55 rupees.