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| To welcome more visitors in the coming years, the Big Island needs more luxury establishments. |
Customers and new tourists are increasingly demanding in terms of quality. The hotel sector must follow the trend, in a dynamic where the country intends to focus on luxury tourism, to make it a flagship sector for the coming years.
How does the hotel sector meet customer demands? She is increasingly young, wealthy and above all connected. An opportunity for visibility for hotel establishments, but there is a flip side to every coin. A need for infrastructure and skills is felt, with a new dynamic. In its policy, the State intends to develop luxury tourism. This rhymes with the hotel industry.
“To accommodate a maximum number of visitors, there is a need for twenty thousand additional rooms in Madagascar. We are really trying to ensure that these are high-end hotel establishments, in order to absorb the growing demand of the market, and thus meet its requirements,” announced the Minister of Tourism, Viviane Dewa, on Tuesday, during Emirates’ inaugural flight to Ivato. The government member explained that the sector, to follow this trend, needs substantial investments to support tourism.
According to hotel managers and professionals, the sector is currently facing a major turning point. The arrival of Emirates perfectly illustrates this situation.
Problems
Emirati customers are known for their demands in terms of comfort, but also in terms of business. “We currently need hotels that meet international standards,” confirms the Minister of Tourism. The luxury and splendor that goes with these establishments, however, will be nothing without adequate public infrastructure. Operators have repeatedly mentioned problems in terms of safety, the state of the roads, but also in relation to the density of the domestic air network.
There is also another essential point in the development of luxury hotels. The question is whether the skills of operators and suppliers in the sector are adequate for this new market. “The main point is to be able to immediately adapt to demand and reach these new markets. For two years already, after the Covid period, we started training professionals in digital marketing. We trained them on how to reach these markets and what customers expect, or how to discuss with their customers,” says Johann Pless, President of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs of Madagascar.
The hotel sector also benefits from support from the Malagasy Professional Training Fund and the French Development Agency. This involves financing of 600 million ariary. A fund to support the transformation of the sector, through a training plan. It is provided free of charge to six hundred and twenty professionals in the hotel sector, individuals, large establishments or even in the informal sector. The goal is to “redefine the standards of the hotel industry in Madagascar”.
Itamara Randriamamonjy