PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - The number of tourists visiting Mauritius rose 10.6 percent in the first quarter of 2015 from a year ago, increased by arrivals from Europe and Asia, official figures showed on Friday. Tourism is a key source of hard currency for the Indian Ocean island state, which like other long-haul destinations in the region has turned east in search of sun-worshippers wanting a slice of paradise to compensate for weak growth in more traditional European markets. Arrivals in the first three months of 2015 increased to 291,329 from 263,293 a year earlier, Statistics Mauritius said. Numbers from Europe, which accounts for two-thirds of visitors, rose 11.5 percent to 169,127 as arrivals from Britain alone increased by 30 percent. The number of tourists visiting from Asia rose by 18.4 percent to 45,949, helped by a 24.8 percent increase in arrivals from China. "Barring the unforeseen, 2015 will be a very good year for the tourism industry. Our immediate focus will be the low season (May to September)," Tourism Minister Xavier-Luc Duval said in a statement. Mauritius, with an annual gross domestic product of more than $10 billion, plans to expand its budget for tourism promotion to 560 million rupees in 2015/16 from 390 million rupees previously.