Tourism: new dynamics for the 2010 season

Tourism in a poor run of form because of the political and economic crisis does not prevent the Great Isle from remaining seducing for various professionals. “There is still a dynamics from operators, it is very encouraging “, confirmed Serge Rajaobelina of GO TO Madagascar. 

The publication of the work, “Madagascar the Ocean Island” is a blessing for a country’s face recently tarnished by the political crisis. “Merely through its title, this book is already making the promotion of the destination”, insured the National Office of Tourism’s head leader. Joël Randriamanadrato is also standing by events in which Madagascar is top starring, as the Nausicaa show in Boulogne sur Mer. 

Foreign medias keep on being interested in Madagascar. The TV producer Christophe Dechavanne would like to shoot a film in the Great Isle for his show Rais Amazone.  

Technical unemployment 

The Federation of Madagascar’s Innkeepers (locally called FHORM), are ask for a six months extension of the technical unemployment period in the tourist sector. The bogged down crisis and its backlash on the economy actually thwarted the re-launch plan. 

The situation is critical; the sector of tourism is on the brink of bankruptcy. Hotels, and restaurants in a more minor extent, are jeopardized by the absence of tourists in Madagascar. The reservation rate does no more reach over 40% throughout usually hugely visited tourist sites during the upper season with an average of 85% in normal time. In Antananarivo, hotels are being even more deserted with a disastrous reservation rate of 10%. 

In face of series of cancellations from tourists and tour operators, the FHORM has already cast a large part of the sector’s employees aside. According to its president, Eric Kohler, the report is bitter at the end of the six months period defined by the law. He is estimating that innkeepers are compelled to extend the technical unemployment period. “It is the best solution if we want to avoid layoffs”. 

The minister for Tourism has already given “verbal agreement” to the FHORM’s demands. The capitalization should no more be very far away. Employees as well as operators are mutually winning advantages. According to Eric Kholer, layoffs would be far more costly to innkeepers who invested much in the training of their employees. In the end for them, there is still ground for a chance to recover jobs.