Antananarivo, February 3, 7:30 p.m. – A range of expenses. An international tourist who travels to Madagascar stays around two weeks in the country. During this stay, this tourist will spend between 1,800 and 2,400 euros, depending on their country of origin, according to what was explained by the vice-president of the board of directors of the Confederation of Tourism of Madagascar (CTM), Johann Pless, Friday.
This expense does not include the cost of the plane ticket that brought this tourist. Johann Pless believes that people traveling to Madagascar could still spend more if there is competition on the prices of plane tickets offered by airlines. “Lowering their arrival charge in the country will allow tourists to spend more money. This is money that can be added to their planned spending on crafts, car rental, visiting parks or even on their accommodation and catering,” maintains this vice-president of the CTM.
Currently the first destination for tourists in Madagascar is Antananarivo, followed by Nosy-Be. Mahajanga closes the podium. “These three cities are considered very touristy. Other towns are isolated, with their difficult access by road and with the little air rotation they benefit from, as is the case with Sainte Marie or Fort Dauphin,” continues Johann Pless.
However, during their stay of approximately 15 days in Madagascar, an international tourist will only spend 1.8 nights on average in Antananarivo. “We thus see that there is a real decentralization of the tourist’s act of purchasing since less than 10% of their stay will remain in the Capital,” he points out.
To quickly improve the attractiveness and seduction capacity of the Madagascar destination, the State puts forward in its General Policy (PGE) that it is essential to develop dedicated areas equipped with modern facilities and served by a system of multimodal transport. He also believes that the adoption of the new investment code should improve the business climate in Madagascar, by removing the numerous administrative and legal obstacles.
The State also says it is convinced that the tourism industry will contribute optimally to the acceleration of the country’s economic growth as a stimulator of foreign and national investments, a provider of foreign exchange and a creator of income-generating activities and jobs at local level.