The COVID-19 crisis has wiped out half a billion dollars in expected tourism revenues for Madagascar since January, according to official estimates. For the megadiverse island nation, which struggles with extreme poverty and nurtures a fragile political stability, international tourism provides much-needed revenue.
When President Andry Rajoelina came to power in January 2019, he promised to bring the country out of the woods after years of political instability. Tourism was vital to his strategy, a way to translate Madagascar’s reputation as a biodiversity hotspot into real and lasting benefits for its people.
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/as-visitors-vanish-madagascars-protected-areas-suffer-a-devastating-blow/