ANTANANARIVO: Perched on the muddy bank of a river meandering through rolling green hills, the Lemurs' Park near Madagascar's capital is rated one of the city's top attractions, but you would not know it from the number of visitors.

On a Saturday in what is meant to be high season, only a handful of tourists are in the park to catch a glimpse of the furry creatures endemic to the tropical forests of this vast Indian Ocean island.

Tour operators blame the latest drop in visitor numbers on mass cancellations that followed a month-long Air Madagascar strike that grounded all internal flights.

But to Rakotomamonjy Andrianantoanina, a veteran Lemurs' Park guide, the long-term trend since a 2009 coup that scared off visitors and ravaged the economy has been just as worrying.

"In 2008, the tourism in Madagascar was very high. But there has been political trouble since 2009 so the tourists are fewer and fewer," Andrianantoanina told Reuters as ring-tailed lemurs scampered through nearby eucalyptus trees.

With the mining industry hit by low global commodity prices, the government has promoted tourism as a spur of growth and job creation in one of the world's poorest nations.

Andriantiana, the tourism minister, said the strikes had prompted the government to "liberalize" the skies by introducing more competition, including on domestic flights.

"It's not good to have a monopoly," he said. "If Air Madagascar doesn't work well, every sector will fall down."

The government had held talks with Kenya Airways and Air France to introduce new international routes to open up markets in Africa, Asia and North America, he added.

Until now, Madagascar has marketed itself to adventure travelers as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit a "modern-day Noah's Ark" - a reference to estimates that 80 percent of its plant-life cannot be found anywhere on the planet.

"It's amazing how you can travel for six hours and go from desert to rainforest," said 19-year-old Briton Ollie Tiliouine, who volunteered for a marine conservation charity before criss-crossing the island on rickety minibuses.

Competing for the high-end tourists who flock to Seychelles and Mauritius, two neighboring Indian Ocean islands famed for azure waters and white sandy beaches, will prove tricky.

"Outside the capital, it's hard to find good services and hotels, especially for the upper market," said another tour operator who did not wish to reveal her name as she was critical of tourism policy.

That matters little to the likes of Pauline Geoffroy, a 22-year-old French tourist who traveled 3,000 km (2,000 miles) in cramped public buses across humid lowlands and undulating highlands dotted with shimmering rice fields.

"The sea, mountains and wildlife here are just so unique," she said. "It's like a paradise. I would definitely come back."