Madagascar: the tourism market brings together players in the sector after two years of pandemic
The Alley of Baobabs between Morondava and Belon'i Tsiribihina in Madagascar.
Since Friday and until this afternoon (Sunday July 10) “The large tourism market” welcomes tour operators, hoteliers and tourist offices from the different regions of the island.
Three days to mark the revival of the sector after two years of border closure.
AFP - ALINE RANAIVOSON
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
In Madagascar, players in the tourism sector gathered for three days in the capital Antananarivo.
While the high tourist season has started and the Malagasy sky has been reopened for several months, the recovery remains timid in the country.
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With our correspondent in Antananarivo,
Laetitia Bezain
Unique biodiversity, white sand beaches and turquoise waters, majestic landscapes, the assets of the Big Island to attract tourists are numerous.
But not always enough, notes Tsiry Rasetriarivony, head of operations at tour operator Zà
-
Tours:
“
In terms of nature, Madagascar is really irreplaceable, but we really need to review all the infrastructure.
The roads have really deteriorated in the last two years.
National roads are terrible right now.
We must inform our tourists of the reality in the country and we also tell them that Madagascar needs tourism.
But the infrastructure problem greatly hinders tourists and the promotion of the Madagascar destination.
There are tourists who prefer to go to Mauritius”.
“
Tourism is starting to come back little by little, but it's really timid.
We need more flights, more promotion and communication.
For us, for example, our customers are 99% English-speaking, Americans and British, and they combine their trip to Madagascar with Africa, but the flights with South Africa have not yet been restored and that penalizes us a lot
,” he adds.
This Thursday, July 7, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the "
imminent
" resumption of flights between Madagascar and South Africa without specifying a date.
If since the coronavirus pandemic, the country has been working to promote national tourism, in particular with this fair, it does not make it possible to compensate for the shortfall from the considerable drop in the number of foreign customers.
The tourist sites are numerous in Nosy be, and there is something for everyone.
#MyMadagascar #reopen #Tourism #Madagascar pic.twitter.com/K6B6m53x3A
— Madagascar Tourism (@IleMadagascar) November 29, 2021
In Nosy Be, a northwest island, whose economy is based on tourism, some operators are struggling to find the means to maintain their establishments after two years of crisis, explains Yavy Tatiana Rambeloson.
She is the tourism delegate for Nosy Be and a member of the Board of Directors of the Tourist Office: “
Normally, during the low season, the majority of operators rehabilitate their establishments.
But with the crisis, they could not do it.
Currently, tourist establishments in Nosy Be are a bit knocked out. Some are also temporarily closed while waiting for them to rehabilitate
”
.
"
In 2019, we had a very good year for tourism and operators invested in the sector.
There was Covid-19 the following year and it all fell apart, but the banks asked them to repay their loans even though there was no tourist activity during the pandemic.
Some even sell their property to repay their loans.
There was support deployed by the Ministry of Tourism, but only 78 operators benefited from this support.
So, we still hope that the support will continue so that tourist operators can recover.
Flights from abroad to Nosy Be have resumed, but the problem remains the ticket prices which are a bit expensive.
After the borders reopened, from April to June, we had low growth, but now,
“Says Yavy Tatiana Rambeloson.
Before the pandemic, in 2019, Madagascar had reached a historic level with the reception of 350,000 tourists in one year.
Since the beginning of the year, the country has registered just under 27,000, according to figures from the Ministry of Tourism.
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To read also:
Madagascar: start of the campaign to buy green vanilla in the Sava region
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Madagascar
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