Ecotourism in Madagascar - Responsible Tourism: Critical Issues for Conservation and Development - page 21

investors on their own);

3 better repartition of revenues, especially at the community level (better

integration of the community into tourism development advantages); and

4 access to finance for projects focusing on sustainable and ecotourism (which

is limited today by very high interest rates).

Over three days, around 150 people from the public and private sector as well as
donors and NGOs put together a strategy and implementation document to bring
to life the MAP's vision.The participants proposed more than 70 concrete actions
on how to facilitate and push forward the development of ecotourism and sustain-
able tourism in Madagascar in the coming years. It became clear that a lot of
technical and financial support from the donors would be needed.
Madagascar's National Tourism Board (ONTM) also initiated the platform
Ecotod ( eco tourisme et to urisme d urable) in early 2006 following demand from its
members, including regional tourism boards, tourism associations, Ministry of
Transport and Tourism and the private sector to learn more about ecotourism and
sustainable tourism. Ecotod's mission is to provide a platform for exchange on
these types of tourism between members and different parties (the members
include ONTM, NGOs, donors, private and public sector), facilitating discussion
of specific topics, the exchange of experiences, expert input and information on
current trends, to create synergies between the participants, and also to study and
initiate defined and concrete projects with practical and replicable results for the
tourism sector. The first year of Ecotod, 2006, showed a remarkable list of practi-
cal results:

• the establishment of codes of conduct for tourists, local population and the

private sector;

• a monthly Ecotourism Newsletter;

• an implementation plan for eco- and sustainable tourism development in

Madagascar for the next five years using the objectives of the Madagascar
Action Plan and linking them to activities undertaken in recent years at the
national level (such as tourism masterplan, Assises, Ecotod) but also at the
international level (e.g. Local Agenda 21);

• creating synergies between stakeholders and provoking discussions on several

topics (e.g. renewable energy); and

the development of a Malagasy definition of ecotourism. 5 •

With no financial support, this circle of 120 participants, predominantly from the
private sector, have demonstrated the interest and will of the Malagasy tourism
sector to push forward the necessary actions to develop and broaden this niche
industry.