Truth Behind Travel Podcast

Madagascar Now: A Reality Check for Travelers After the Political Shift

• Dolores Semeraro

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Flash episode: Dolores Semeraro interviews eco tourism expert on the field Sonja Gottlebe following the political unrest in Madagascar this week - mid October 2025. 

Sonja joins Truth Behind Travel Podcast for the second time after her first episode n.79 on Season 4. 

On this episode: 

- Dolores & Sonja discuss the recent political unrest and its impact on tourism in Madagascar

- Sonja highlights the peaceful Gen Z-inspired protests in October, the rapid digital communication, and the swift departure of key officials. 

- The importance of continued tourism to support the destination and urges travelers to rely on personal research and local sources for accurate information.

Contact Sonja here



Host of Truth Behind Travel Podcast, Dolores Semeraro is a sought-after international tourism keynote speaker and sustainable tourism marketing professional.

Dolores actively works in the tourism and travel conference space as a keynote speaker and moderator, gracing the stages of international tourism summits and trade shows.

As a professional keynote speaker, Dolores’ speaking topics encompass sustainability in tourism, digital marketing and how to identify today’s traveler’s needs through technology and innovation.

5 years ago, Dolores launched her podcast show named ‘Truth Behind Travel Podcast’ where she regularly interviews tourism and travel industry leaders and representatives on how to rebuild the future of travel.

www.doloressemeraro.com

dolores@doloressemeraro.com

Instagram @dolores_semeraro

LinkedIn @dolores.sem

Dolores Semeraro:

Welcome to Truth Behind travel podcast, a platform for tourism, travel and hospitality professionals and enthusiasts to share, learn and unlearn what we need to create better tourism, protect the environment and become better humans. I'm your host, Dolores Semeraro, and every week, I bring on a podcast the voices of those out there making a difference to learn the hard truth behind the world of travel and tourism, what works and what we can collectively do better. Welcome to Season 4 - a series of conversations fully dedicated to women in travel, the trailblazers, the visionaries who have been and continue to be the force for good. We need to hear more from back on the podcast for a reality check on Madagascar, a destination featured on Season Four with Sonia Gottlieb, an ecotourism expert and gstc Certified Trainer based in Madagascar on episode 79 the truth behind traveling to Madagascar episode back then was very well received on the podcast. So this week, mid October 2025 when the news around Madagascar described the ongoing protests of revolutionaries, high government representative fleeing the country overnight, and a possible military coup, I reached out to Sonia to have an open conversation on what is really going on in Madagascar from the inside, and quickly discovered that all that was shown in the international media wasn't quite telling the Right story. Welcome back to the podcast. Welcome back. Sonia from Madagascar, your episode was one of the most downloaded episodes of season four. What is happening nowadays in Madagascar is what we've seen in the news. I'm very grateful to have you back on this spontaneous, impromptu little chat, and let's talk about what's happening in Madagascar right now.

Sonja Gottlebe:

Burrazzara Dolores, this is how we say, Hello. How are you in Sakalava? I'm actually talking to you from a little island nosib, which lays northwest from Madagascar. Yes, I'm very happy to talk about about what's going on in Madagascar, in Nosy Be particularly because the people here consider to be another country. So actually, what happened on the 25th of October, we had a Gen Z, let's say protest inspired from Nepal. It's the first time that such a thing happens in Madagascar. I'm pretty proud of this young generation, because they are able to be organized peaceful, they are using Internet, and the tool of internet in in a very clever way, despite the fact that they, especially in antananaribu, they have no electricity. Most of time, no water. Most of time. Despite all these problems, they got organized this war, let's say was a digital war, and was is finished now, and they won with a mobile phone.

Dolores Semeraro:

As we were about to start this conversation, we saw the official press release issued by the Madagascar Tourism Board reassuring travelers visitors to the destinations. Tourism Board and tourism organizations around the world that traveling to Madagascar is now safe, and the events that have unfolded over the last few days were happening mostly in the capital city, rather than in the tourist area like Nosy Be in the north of the country, for example, that's where you're based. And this press communicate comes at the moment where, in the news, we see that there is already a new president in place, and things have come down. But the question that for me remain unanswered is, if a press communicate, if a press release on on Travel Advisor to a destination happens at such a slow response rate? Is it even effective?

Sonja Gottlebe:

Let's say the this, this time, this everything went very fast due to this digital communication. So even for us living here, from the morning to the same day, from morning to night, we had lots of it was difficult to follow, follow what was, was really going on, because we, for example, let's say this weekend, last weekend, on Saturday, we heard that private plane was flying illegally to La Reunion. They couldn't land there, and finally landed in Mauritius, and then it was all of that was completely, let's say, illegal, because they the plane left without any flight plan. And then in a couple of hours later, we found out through all these different websites.

Unknown:

Even on Fly scanner, you know when you fly to where you can follow the track of planes. We could follow the plane because it's so easy, it's nothing is for, is is hidden anymore due to Internet. So we have seen that the plane landed in in Mauritius and and then we found out we as as Facebook users, that on that plane was the prime minister and a whole family with the richest man of Madagascar, who is now in riches, and then a couple of hours later, the same weekend, where there were pictures showing a helicopter flying out from the presidential palace in Tana to the east coast and other pictures from Saint Marie Island, a little island on the East Coast, a touristic Island as well, where a French army plane was there that has been sent illegally to Madagascar as well, and has he took out the president, the former president, from Madagascar to La Reunion Island. And the same day, a private plane flew from that union to Dubai.

Sonja Gottlebe:

And on Monday, we were all wondering, well, is, do we still have a government? Because we have this information that they all left, so do we have a government? And then he made a speech on Monday, and he said, well, in fact, I'm not here anymore. He didn't say where he was, but we knew already that it's Dubai. So that means things went so fast. The traditional way to communicate, like tourism board, you know, they have to to ask several people. They cannot. There's not only one person first travel, that was the UK, Germany and then Italy, but Italy decided to exclude nosib, because they have lots of economic interests in nosib. Then and then, finally, France. And then, suddenly, the same week. All that happened last week, Air France stopped flying to Madagascar without any I mean, there was nothing happened at the airport. I mean, we have seen that those who wanted to leave from the airport left from the airport. So Air Force stopped flying for four days, and Emirates stopped flying as well. I don't know if it's connected to the fact that some of these guys are now in Dubai. This was the only problem tourists had to face last week because they were stuck.

Dolores Semeraro:

But the protest was peaceful, and it happened only in big cities. And this is what perhaps, from the outside, we didn't really get to see, because the images that were circulating about the events happening in the capital were didn't look very peaceful, and they didn't look like they were, you know, holding hands and singing songs. So I wonder how much of that, of these images that have been around and have been circulated across the international media outlets are, in fact, damaging an already very fragile destination reputation.

Sonja Gottlebe:

It was not unexpected because something needed to happen, but this lack of electricity and water is going on for years, so it's nothing new. But we do not have many international journalists here. They're not based here. Madagascar is a peaceful part of the Indian Ocean, and the Indian Ocean also is a peaceful region. We had no more flights, and that was so fast that there were no journalists coming on planes and trying to cover, cover the thing, right? It's not Gaza here. Then, unfortunately, this is really what, what media always try to do, is to have terrible pictures. And it's true that over 20 people died. I mean, it's not that things happened. So they really always saw the same pictures coming back and back again. You don't know what to do in this in that situation, you just stay at home and pray that it's over fast, right? And try to find out what's going on later on.

Dolores Semeraro:

And just because there is no physical presence of international media outlets on the ground right there, they have to count on the images and the reports that are being circulated by the local governance and the media outlets present there, as well as also the private because we were having this conversation about how the perception of the destination plays a big role when It comes to not just to not just to pick the official communicate the official reports of the destination, but also what people share, you know, and people that were there in that very moment, sharing what they were seeing. And this, this, we've had this conversation the last episode of the of the podcast, the user generated content you can't escape from that. People are sharing what is happening in the destination, regardless right then think of what happens outside the country, and what are other you know, target markets, your main markets, the US, you know, the United States, the American markets coming into Madagascar, big market, the European the Germans, the British and they all have issued travel warning against unnecessary travel to Madagascar Exactly. So how, from a tourism destination point of view, how long does it take, actually, to get these travel warnings effect to sort of like, fade out?

Sonja Gottlebe:

You know, it doesn't. It just, it doesn't just stop overnight. You know the repercussions, the echo. It's longer, it's long and unfair. Because, as you said, I mean now, right now, the moment today, we're speaking about that. But this morning, we got a new president. He's in place, and we expect a new government as well. And then no, there's no protest anymore, but the situation is still, let's say, pretty unconventional, right? Because it was like, for me, it's like, well, you wake up in the morning and I wonder, is it really? Did it really happen? It happened so fast. Normally, any other crisis here takes up to one year minimum, five months, six months, eight months, and it happened in less than two weeks. The travel alerts are political decisions, because travel alerts are issued by the embassies who are based here, and the embassies if, as you said, the European market, if one European destination issues it's a travel area. The others cannot, cannot really decide not to do so, or they they're most more or less copy and paste, because they cannot say it's different from one citizen to another. So the traveler are in place, the decision to change the color, because you have, like, red, orange, green and so on in the different stages of travel, alerts, embassies can decide that the situation has improved. They could degrade the have a yes, degrade the the alert. I know that from experience that this takes time because they all look at each other. Are the Germans trying to do? Who is? Who is doing first? We just have been excluded yesterday by the African Union. Madagascar has been excluded, or, let's not excluded by kind of suspended. As long as the new government is not in place. You cannot go against that, even if the Tourism Board writes nice communication and so on. They will It will be tough. It will be it will take some time, but we are still in the touristic season. My colleagues, who are selling Madagascar at at the whole as a whole destination, they lost lots of, almost 100% of their bookings last week because the bookings from right now, because it's so difficult. It was difficult to find out how you fly in and fly out, and domestic flights were canceled, and it was pretty chaotic. Most of the clients we lost and not They postponed, maybe their their trip to Madagascar for next year, because we are long haul destination, and people tend to stay two to three weeks in Madagascar so they might come back, but I'm afraid not this season, no, next year

Dolores Semeraro:

for me as a traveler, personally, I kind of as a traveler, I feel conscious about what right do I have to go and have my holiday in a country that is going through so many difficulties and is going through such a tough time, many people would feel not unsafe to travel to Madagascar perhaps, where they would feel that it's probably not the right time the destination has other things in mind, other priorities to solve. What do you see right now? Do you see another major step back.

Sonja Gottlebe:

Many of my colleagues and friends in tourism also say, Well, we hope it was worth. We hope it's it was worth, because we need a change. So that means they are all think about restarting soon. The touristic infrastructures were not damaged at all. I mean, there is no not one hotel or restaurant or whatever that has been damaged. And not one tourist who who is a target from this protest. And the best way to support, again, a country that that has this type of issue is is to travel to that country and to tell the world that you had the nice trip. I would like to make it clear a Travel Alert is not it doesn't mean it's forbidden for you to travel there. It's just it means that the travel insurance might not work if something happens in that country. It's your choice to travel. So it means that you, if you also carefully read the content. It says in which part of which city you shouldn't be so you just avoid that. I mean, if I look at I live in the southern hemisphere, and if you look at French TV, you have the feeling sometimes that France is on war, right? You see protest, violent protest going on in Paris every time. But you travel to Paris, you visit Paris, and you will not see these guys. The best way to to help Madagascar as a destination is really to come then, of course, I understand that if you book a trip through a travel agent, they have to follow this rule. They have to inform the guests that there's a traveler there and that the travel insurance might not work, and then they do cancel for sure, yeah, well,

Dolores Semeraro:

I guess that the money talks, right? And if something happens and they already feel unsafe or they could be potentially even remotely in danger. And they said, and even then, my insurance won't cover. Then I don't go, then I go somewhere else. That's, that's, that's, that's, unfortunately, the most common case and the most common scenario. So it's really important, and I love that you say that the best way to support a destination in moments like this is not to cancel your travel plans. It's to continue to go ahead, to be conscious of where you're going, when you're going, what we will what we want to do with this quick chat with with you is really to shine a light on a destination that is very much loved on the podcast, because the episode was very well received, great feedback, sort of is still has that mystical, mysterious, sort of appeal to it. And and you are there, you know, holding the flag of ecotourism, responsible tourism, and in your role in Madagascar, especially as a gstc certified trainer, you are personally frontliner, involved in many projects, especially when it comes to re evaluating redeveloping areas of the country that were not even accessible to tourism before. What do you see ahead of your personal work in Madagascar right now?

Sonja Gottlebe:

Exactly, my hope for the future is that this changes is going to accelerate things that need to happen and things that stakeholders want to see happen. In August, on a WWF assignment, I had the opportunity to interview different stakeholders, like communities involved in mangrove conservation. I also saw directors of tourism, of environment, and all of them said, wow, it's time now to go. We have to accelerate our the implementation of criterias, of labels, of standards. We need to learn more about sustainable tourism. We are late because our neighbors are going fast, and I think the biggest part of the problem was poor politics. My belief is that tourism is very resilient. In Madagascar, the most you are experts in crisis. So back to normal is not so difficult, and back to normal, and then go forward to sustainable tourism is possible. And I'm I'm pretty I'm still positive about all of this,

Dolores Semeraro:

and positive we should stay, I think, because if we are not, then what, what do we do? So I think the outlook on on the work ahead in Madagascar is it looks very promising many projects, many like a rising interest, I would say, on understanding how to best position this destination, not just as a beach holiday, but as something truly special and very specific when it comes to biosphere and the marine environment, the ecosystem and in relation to what is happening at the moment, at the destination level, I'm really grateful that you were able to share on the podcast, and also in this flash episode, the real life, sort of Like a real check on what is going on and what we can expect moving forward, especially when it comes to destination perception, we're always there to raise a flag towards what's positive, what's peaceful, what's proactive. And if the sources that we can access to to access information, to access images, videos, you know, but when we can see exactly what is happening nowadays, what would you recommend to the listeners of the podcast if they want to get through information about what is going on in Madagascar, where should they look before going to any Official traveler-led website?

Sonja Gottlebe:

Have a look by themselves, listen to podcasts. I don't promote Facebook especially, but this is where it happens, and that's how the change, the change arrived so fast. Spend some time surfing yourself on the social media and try to find the process. And the Contra and then ask your travel agent, or ask persons you find out on there are lots of discussion forums about Madagascar in all languages, and ask people, How is the situation? Can you give me your personal idea? And honestly, most of travel agencies or to operators based in Madagascar will never put a guest into danger. I mean, it's important for everything, not only for Madagascar crisis, the wording, the wording of of the international press, it's pretty it's pretty interesting to see how, for example, BBC was talking about the events last week and the same the same time the French media, so they use very much the word it was a military coup. This weekend. It was not a military coup, and the military coup has a definition, right? So they didn't kill the president or went into a palace or whatever, and destroyed something. It's the wording was wrong, and that's why you cannot, you cannot even rely on what these huge press agencies are saying. I mean, people need to get to start to think about themselves. I mean, with their own brain.

Dolores Semeraro:

Absolutely. If this podcast can help, if this conversation can help, we will share it. Will we will amplify it. This will serve us as a lesson also to it's not often that a destination that was featured on the podcast goes through a radical, drastic change as such. So I was glad to have an opportunity to come back to that conversation and explore it in more details with you. Thank you so much for coming back on the podcast Sonja

Sonja Gottlebe:

Dolores, it was my pleasure. Thank you for joining me on this episode of truth behind travel podcast and to learn more about Madagascar and the work of Sonia. Check out episode 79 and do not hesitate to get in touch with her with the link in the show notes. Stay up to date with future shows on the podcast with the link on the show notes, and I hope to see you in my mailing community. In the words of Sonia, the best way to support a destination in the moments of crisis is not to stop visiting See you soon on the next episode you.