The health crisis has had a strong impact on Nosy Be’s economy. Tourism being the main source of employment, the island found itself paralyzed for more than two years. The reopening of the borders gives hope for a return to normal.
APÉRO sunset on the largest catamaran on the island, music from here and elsewhere and view of the reliefs of Grande Terre and the islets that surround it… Dream outing off Nosy Be on August 23, after two years of nightmare. From 2020 to 2022, all tourist activities have been suspended on the island isolated from the world, plunging the inhabitants into deep poverty. Today, Mamadou, the skipper of the “Adiva”, and Julien, guide and excursionist at “Les Ziliens”, are regaining their confidence. On board, the Ducros, regulars of Nosy Be, enjoy themselves. “We come every two years by car from Tana, then by ferry,” explains the mother.
Since April 20, charter flights chartered by Air Austral, Neos Air or Ethiopian Airways have landed again on the tourist pearl of Madagascar. However, tourism in Nosy Be does not seem to have resumed its usual course. “We know very well that the year 2022 is a dead year”, regrets a hotel employee. Same story in high standing establishments, such as the Royal Beach. Elisabetta Gravellino, the dynamic president of the Regional Tourist Office, is more optimistic. “Everything is booked for this end of the year 2022”, she assures. If the recovery is slow to appear, it is because Nosy Be is not a last-minute destination: “Tourists prepare for it three or four months in advance. »
A drop in activity of more than 50%
For now, Ambatoloaka beach is far from crowded. Eliane, 20, a seller of artisanal jewelry for almost five years, can attest to this: “Despite the opening of the borders, my business has still not regained its pre-Covid balance! The sale of its products has gone “from ten to just one a day”. Fabio D’Alessandro, manager of Palm Beach, agrees: “Before Covid, my annual occupancy rate was 80%; today I do not reach 40%. “However, he remains optimistic for the year 2023. Michel Soupramayen, a Reunionese loyal to the establishment, also observes a timid attendance of “regulars”.
On the side of small businesses, we feel the same hope. Hanitra, 48, a saleswoman at the “Bazar des Arts”, today achieves a turnover almost equivalent to that of before the crisis, which is not so bad. But the shopkeeper is in debt to the tune of three million ariary, the amount of rent for her shop, following these two years of losses. This mother of two children had no choice but to temporarily close her business and start growing rice for her family’s survival. The cereal was then used as a barter with other products: “Cassava, corn, potato, mango, banana…”
Deputy Christine Marifidy Razafindravony remembers: “For two years, no more work, no more food, the population asked us, but we could do nothing for them! Also a tourism professional, the elected official had to close her dancing Chez Tatie Chris.
To survive
During this period when the activity was reduced to nothing, the Nosybeans survived thanks to solidarity – most of the large hotels continued to pay part of the salaries – and to resourcefulness, but also thanks to the PIC project (Integrated Pole of Growth) from the World Bank. Charlesia, 25, as determined as she is cheerful, team leader at the “Bungalow des tropics”, is one of the six thousand five hundred beneficiaries of Nosy Be: “To improve my skills, I trained as a waitress which lasted a week. Compensated to the tune of 16,000 ariary per day of training, and receiving only part of her salary, she had to dig into her personal savings to survive.
Johnny, nautical excursion guide at Nosy Mada Tours, 20 years of experience on the clock, had to convert himself into a tuk-tuk driver, for lack of customers. “Right now, boat trips are resuming, but at a reduced price, while gasoline increases to 4,000 ariary per litre. The reopening has certainly allowed him to regain his former activity, but not yet the 100,000 ariary that he could sometimes pocket per race.