By deciding to reopen its borders, Morocco is signalling a resumption of tourism under favourable reception conditions and with a minimum of restrictions, says Adel El Fakir, Director General of the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT), in an interview published in Le Figaromercredi.
“The aim is to guarantee the safety of both tourists and our population. On site, freedom of movement is the rule, based on the vaccination pass. To date, 75% of Morocco’s target population has been vaccinated, including all staff in the tourism sector,” notes El Fakir in this interview posted on the newspaper’s website.
The Director General of the ONMT, who unveiled the sanitary protocol which will govern arrivals and stays in the Kingdom from 7 February, underlined that the signal given by the government last week, by announcing very early on favourable reception conditions for travellers, “clearly indicates the reopening and resumption of tourist activity”, which will be “gradual but perennial, and secured by our sanitary protocol”.
Recalling that Morocco, the leading foreign destination for French people outside Europe, which accounts for a third of arrivals, received nearly 4.2 million French people in 2019, El Fakir believes that “we are not going to regain this position immediately”.
Concerning the prospects for the resumption of air traffic, he specifies that a certain number of companies are already operating and confirm the resumption of their activity in Morocco, including Royal Air Maroc, which is resuming all its frequencies, Air France or Transavia.
“Other companies are also preparing their recovery. As far as France is concerned, the objective is to return to pre-pandemic traffic levels by this summer, i.e. an average of 66 daily flights from 20 airports,” adds El Fakir, noting that “some companies even expect to exceed pre-pandemic booking levels”.
When asked whether Morocco was ready to welcome millions of tourists again, the Director General of the ONMT said that most of the hotel establishments had remained open and part of their activity had been strongly supported by domestic tourism, which represented on average 32% of overnight stays over the last 4 years.
The announcement of the authorities was made beforehand so that establishments receiving tourists could prepare themselves as well as possible, and the State has released large amounts of aid, El Fakir was keen to explain, adding that all partners, travel agents and hoteliers, have been mobilised to prepare for the resumption on Monday in secure conditions.
At the same time, he ruled out a possible price increase in this context, as the sector is in recovery, while the objective of hoteliers is to welcome their customers in the best conditions.
“We’ve seen that over the last two years, there has been no variation in prices. Once again, the French market is extremely important for us. We expect a recovery in tourism in all destinations and with all types of travel: young people, couples and also millennials, who are very fond of Morocco in all its dimensions, exotic, safe and with great natural diversity, while retaining a human dimension. We are already seeing a resurgence in bookings at the hotel and travel agency level,” he says.
According to him, the health crisis has allowed Moroccans to rediscover or discover new destinations in their own country such as Dakhla, Ouarzazate, Chefchaouen or the Mar Chica lagoon, near Nador, on the Mediterranean coast.
“The sector has been able to keep establishments open: this is a real form of resilience. Morocco must reposition itself in the minds of travellers as a reassuring destination of choice,” he concludes.
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