Tourism: Madagascar elected as Vice-president of the WTO Commission for Africa

New hopes prevail in the tourism sector in Madagascar. The Great Island has been elected Vice-President of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) Commission for Africa. Madagascar is one of the two countries elected as Vice-Presidents of the African Commission inside the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (WTO). The election took place last Saturday in Gyeongju, South Korea, during the General Assembly of the WTO which will end on October 14, 2011.

The election is seen as a great opportunity for the Great Island which zealously promoted itself in recent times as a valuable tourist destination. Consequently, Madagascar’s election as Vice-President of the African Commission inside the WTO is then a positive thing, especially for the economy, because tourism is one of the few sectors that bring substantial foreign currency in the country. “So, this is an ideal opportunity to strengthen the promotion of Madagascar as a tourist destination”, noted Rija Fabrice Andriamaromanana, an officer at the Ministry of Tourism and Handicraft.

A wave of optimism is also noticed among tourism professionals. In fact, they believe that the position of the Great Island in that organization will boost the sector which is still struggling to recover from the crisis. But more important than visibility, the credibility of Madagascar as a tourist destination could also increase with this election. “I would even say it is manna from heaven. It is up to the person who will represent Madagascar to carry out well his or her mission, so that we can all enjoy the benefits of that opportunity”, declared Jocelyn Ramanambohitra, President of the Professional Tour Operators in Madagascar (TOP).