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"It's as if the electricity was cut off. Everything has stopped," said Maueze Popat, a resort owner in Toliara, a popular spot on the Indian Ocean island's southwestern coast.
Several hotels here are already empty after anti-government protests erupted in the capital Antananarivo last month, leaving around 100 people dead, after the city's sacked mayor accused President Marc Ravalomanana of starving his people.
"2008 was a very good year. The 2009 season began well, and then unfortunately the crisis erupted," said Popat, who runs a 43-room hotel.
"We had a group of tourists in the hotel. They were on the beach. When they heard what was happening, they immediately came back and left for Antananarivo. After them, it is dead quiet," he told AFP.
Eric Koller, the head of the island's hotel federation, said between 70% and 80% of hotels were temporarily shut down across the country, cutting their losses as tourist numbers dwindled fast.
Heavy slump
The director of one beachfront hotel said that normally, during the current low season, she can rely on 20 of her 50 rooms being occupied.
"Currently I only have four rooms occupied," said the director, Rose, who agreed to be identified only by her first name.
"I have laid off 50% of the workers in the last 15 days and the others are working only half-day," she said.
Hotels in Antananarivo, the epicentre of the protests where a night curfew has been imposed, have been also been hit hard, recording 60% losses in occupancy, Koller said.
Last year, 378 000 foreign tourists arrived in Madagascar, the majority from its former colonial power France. Tourism earned the island $393m, a decent return in this impoverished country.
Tourism also provided 25 000 direct jobs in 2007, but with the current crisis, the sector is headed for a heavy slump this year and even in 2010.
"Around 60% of bookings for October are on stand-by. They have booked but have not confirmed," said National Tourism Office director Vola Raveloson.
"The fear is that they may turn into cancellations in preference for other destinations like Australia or Costa Rica," she said.
"Our other fear is for the 2010 season. Tour operators are now designing their catalogues. The majority of them will surely scale down Madagascar tours. Others with small itineraries will not even include Madagascar," she added.
Madagascar's beach- and rainforest-driven tourism industry was previously dealt a body blow in 2002 after battles erupted over disputed December 2001 presidential elections, causing the number of visitors to plummet.
Fruitless efforts
Efforts to end the current crisis, that erupted on January 26, have thus far been fruitless.
The capital's sacked mayor, Andry Rajoelina, has declared himself in charge of the country's affairs, named a parallel government and organised sit-ins in an attempt to install his ministerial appointees.
Fresh sit-ins have been called for on Wednesday, a day after the opposition protesters were barred by anti-riot police from entering government ministries.
This week, Rajoelina told French newspaper Le Monde that he had broken off talks with Ravalomanana because he had refused to resign.
In his first public appearance since the crisis broke out, Ravalomanana last week vowed to stay in power until his mandate ends in 2011.
