Since the early 1970s, Fort Dauphin suffered an economic decline due to lack of good road connections to the rest of the country, rendering its port of local importance only. This in spite of significant foreign exchange earned from the export of live lobster (250 to over 350 tonnes per year from 1990 to 2005), sapphires and, up until the hotels in town were all filled by those working on QMM's mining project in 2007, tourism. Tourists have not yet returned in any significant numbers.