Madagascar: A perfect place for kitesurfing, but will tourists come?
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Sakalava Bay has everything a kitesurfer could dream of.
00:04Winds that average 25 knots almost all year round,
00:08beautiful reef breaks and a flat, shallow lagoon.
00:11Despite these uniquely perfect conditions,
00:14the site is little known among practitioners of the sport.
00:17Today, two of kitesurfing's biggest stars
00:20have been invited to promote Sakalava Bay
00:22in a bid to draw more visitors.
00:25I would compare Sakalava Bay to Brazil or Hawaii or Gran Canaria
00:33and I think it's also almost better than those world-class spots.
00:37It's amazing here, you've got flat water and beautiful waves,
00:40wind every day, so definitely one of my top.
00:43There are just a few hundred kitesurfers who take to the waves here each year,
00:48most of whom are residents.
00:50Better-known destinations like Brazil
00:52attract some 320,000 kitesurfers annually.
00:56Despite this, the 20-odd kitesurfing schools in the bay
00:59have proved a valuable source of income
01:01and inspiration for the local village.
01:08My aim is to represent Madagascar in international competitions.
01:15We watch videos of champions like Stig Hoffnagel,
01:18Kohan Van Dijk and Jamie Overbeek.
01:21We improve by imitating their style.
01:27Madagascar won't be sending kitesurfers to the Olympics anytime soon.
01:31Its national federation doesn't even organize competitions.
01:34In 2022, three Malagasy instructors took it upon themselves
01:38to create the country's first annual kitesurf contest
01:42in a bid to drive up tourism.
01:44But they hit a major obstacle, the price of plane tickets.
01:49When people see that getting here costs 2,000 euros
01:52while going to Morocco costs 300 or 400 euros,
01:55of course they go to Morocco.
01:57We would be able to improve things
01:59if the plane tickets were less expensive.
02:04A ten-hour training course here costs some 2,500 euros per person,
02:09including flights from Paris and accommodation.
02:12For some kitesurfers, the perfect conditions
02:15and chance to kitesurf in a lagoon
02:17with no one else around is well worth the price.