COVID-19 Devastates Moroccan Travel Industry: 80% of Agencies Shuttered

"80% of travel agencies in Morocco have closed. The remaining 20% are making do while waiting for better days," Khalid Benazzouz told the website Le360. Despite the reopening of borders and the resumption of tourism activity, travel agents are struggling to achieve good sales figures. According to the president of the Regional Association of Travel Agencies of Casablanca-Settat (ARAVCS), most travel agents have not been able to reach 1% of the turnover they had in 2019.

"Domestic tourists book their stay by contacting the hotels directly. The same goes for foreign tourists who buy airline tickets on online booking platforms," explains Khalid Benazzouz. Faced with this situation, he has sent a letter to the new president of the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT), Hamid Bentahar, asking him to convey the voice of the ARAVCS to the government by defending the grievances of the travel agents of Casablanca.

These grievances can be summarized in five key points: the maintenance until the end of 2022 of the allowances of the Economic Monitoring Committee (CVE) via the CNSS for the benefit of travel agency employees; a subsidy for companies according to the balance sheet generated in 2019 with a ceiling, like what has been done in some countries, such as France; the postponement of loans contracted by employees and those of companies, until December 2022; a tax exemption; and finally, the need to declare the Covid-19 pandemic as a natural disaster.