Political crisis and instability have a lot to do with the fluctuations of Madagascar’s tourism potential. The number of tourist arrivals has dropped by 57 percent from 375,010 to 162,697[1]. The same picture happened in 2020 when the pandemic hardly hit the world. In 2019, 380 000 tourists[2] were recorded by Minister of Transport, Tourism and Meteorology. In the midst of these uncertain times, the government seeks different ways to revive the sector. In the policy letter for the development of the tourism sector in Madagascar, it is stated that: “Tourism is an essential sector that should be prioritized to reboot the economy and social development of Madagascar”[3]. Indeed, the fourth biggest island in the world could capitalize on its natural biodiversity and wild landscape.

Forbes Magazine had listed Madagascar in its top 10 most visited countries in 2019. In 2017, the Red Island was described by French magazine Grazia as an authentic and unescapable destination. New York Times and Vogue Magazine listed Madagascar in the best holiday destinations.[4] Tourism generates 623 million of income worth 7% of Madagascar’s GDP[5].

Unfortunately, tourism sector is sensitive to political crisis, social insecurity, and lately climate change. The tourism sector value weighs a lot on the Malagasy economy, and national and local political strategies should be flexible enough to meet the needs of the tourism sector. As a corollary, tourism is expected to contribute to the increase of Madagascar’s GDP to 15%, to create 79,000 jobs, and to generate one-billion-dollar income in 2023[6]. To reach the goal of 500,000 tourists next year, maintaining political stability is undeniably the first step to advance economic development as the presidential elections are on the agenda as well.

The essential role of local governance

The Malagasy Constitution sees decentralization as a “key to the development of localities”[7]. That is to say that local governance plays a huge role on the tourism sector and territory attractiveness. Hence, regional governors should be open to private-public partnerships that are undoubtedly essential to meet the needs of the tourism sector in terms of infrastructure, security, and environmental protection. Promoting local attractiveness and regional development require strong strategies between governors and local authorities to support regional sustainable development and the growth of tourism activities. The national policy letter clearly highlighted five objectives that point towards one key idea: providing technical and financial support to the tourism sector which is a pillar of Madagascar’s economic development.

For the tourism sector to create better impact on both national and local development, public-private partnerships that meet both sides’ interests are essential. A more attractive and competitive sector would increase private investments. However, failure to reform the law on investment protection and to create infrastructures is a bad market signal for investors. So, how to make tourism a key lever for Madagascar’s economic development? Valuing the private sector’s expertise in building up new perspectives of post-Covid tourism relief, and providing sustainable political development strategy by raising awareness at the local level on the impact of tourism on the Malagasy economy.

In a word, the recovery and development of the tourism sector, like any other sector, depend on national broader political strategies. This requires actors to understand its impact on the Madagascar’s economic development. Developing local site attractiveness and setting up realistic development strategies are two major conditions to support post-Covid recovery of the tourism sector; but this requires hand-to-hand collaboration between the private sector, the local population, and the Malagasy government.

Source: UNWTO

[1] Banque Mondiale, “Madagascar tourism sector review: unlocking the tourism potential of an unpolished gem”, Juillet 2013.

[2] https://www.edbm.mg/secteurs/potentiel-tourisme/

[3] Lettre politique nationale pour le développement du tourisme à Madagascar, page 2, 2017.

[4] https://www.linfo.re/ocean-indien/madagascar/madagsacar-dans-les-top-10-des-destinations-touristiques-2019

[5] https://www.edbm.mg/secteurs/potentiel-tourisme/

[6] https://www.edbm.mg/secteurs/potentiel-tourisme/

[7] Constitution of Madagascar, 10 october 2010, article 141.