Thursday , 28 March 2024
enfrit
On January 28th and 29th, 2010, the second national reflection meeting in some months for tourism's actors are taking place. This time around, it is the public sector's turn. The Tourism ministry is mobilizing the communal administration officials in order to implement the national assemblies' resolutions. The decentralization of formalities and the regional development are the on going topics.

Development of tourism: communes entered in the process

The national meeting on tourism’s development is involving public actors. Every region is being encouraged to conceive and capitalize a strategy. According to minister Irène Andréas, tourism is not a closed doors sector, and can possibly boost various other economic activities as agriculture, breeding, transportation or handicraft. “It is a sector which fights poverty and unemployment “, she argued.  

 

The ministry is preparing regional actors to the changes decided at the outcome of the national assemblies. “We are going to decentralize work. As an example, administrative tasks required by the opening of a hotel will be, from then on, possibly completed in the regions, it will spare operators long journeys to Antananarivo and back”, explained the minister in charge of Tourism. Irène Andréas is putting her money on collaboration between the central administration and communes and regions in order to develop tourism related activities.     

 

In spite of the one year long crisis which has transferred Madagascar on foreign affairs’ red lists, 150 000 tourists travelled to the Great Isle in 2009, though a very small number of them stayed in the capital city. The year 2010 is not much better since uncertainties keep on hovering on the political situation, and consequently creating a climate of insecurity. In order to reassure tour operators, the ministry in charge of tourism, and the Home Security’s state secretary have erected a “tourist police”. Securing national roads is part of its prerogatives