Madagascar strengthens international cooperation to boost tourism and handicrafts
In a bid to energize cultural and sustainable industries, Madagascar is reinforcing its international partnerships. Last week, the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts signed a new cooperation agreement with Good People International, a South Korean organization specialized in community development projects.
This agreement builds on a partnership initiated in 2010 and aims to further develop the tourism and handicraft sectors in the island nation. Among the initiatives, the two parties plan to establish a Madagascar Tourism Promotion Office in South Korea, designed to increase the country’s visibility in the Asian market and attract more Korean visitors.
They also intend to launch a pilot project in agrotourism and ecotourism focused on macadamia cultivation in Moramanga — a segment still underdeveloped but identified as a promising avenue for diversifying the tourism offer.
The convention also outlines programs to promote Malagasy cocoa, coffee, and handicraft products, with an emphasis on local transformation and upgrading, integrating them into high‑value tourism packages. For Madagascar, this marks another step in its broader strategy to strengthen tourism and handicraft offerings, focusing on artisan training, modernization of production chains, promotion of high‑potential natural sites, and the development of community‑based circuits capable of generating sustainable income for local populations.
The choice of Good People International reflects the organization’s long‑standing expertise in community development projects, including training, community support, and income‑generating activities. Madagascar hopes to leverage this experience to adapt operational solutions to the needs of its tourism and handicraft sectors.
This agreement comes as the country intensifies international collaborations to enhance its competitiveness in tourism. It is part of a larger plan to improve hospitality infrastructure, diversify tourism products, and achieve the target of 1 million visitors by 2028, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts.
Source: Agence Ecofin
