Marrakech Tourism Officials Launch Recovery Plan After Thomas Cook Collapse

To counter the effects of the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, announced at the beginning of the week, the Regional Tourism Council (CRT) of Marrakech is going on the offensive with a special conquest plan in order to regain lost market share and attract others in Europe, America and Asia, while consolidating the gains.

According to L’Economiste, it is an ambitious plan involving all parties and able to take on challenges. For Hamid Bentahar, President of the CRT, the challenge today for the ochre city is to maintain its scores and do more.

This same conquest plan has identified the levers of acceleration, some of which should be taken care of by the public sector and partners in training.

This year, Marrakech, which has managed to attract 2.8 million tourists, plans to double this workforce. To achieve this, the President of the CRT proposes that the Marrakech-Safi region constantly reinvent itself to become a favorite destination, pleasant to live in and especially interesting for investors.

However, according to Hamid Bentahar, efforts remain to be made on several fronts, including air transport and product improvement.

To this end, private operators will have to focus on customer improvement, market share growth, turnover, occupancy rate and average price. It is up to the partners to support them in the development of air transport, suggests the same media.

"Tourism provides at least 500,000 direct jobs in the Marrakech-Safi region and the sector could reach 540,000 jobs in 5 years, in addition to 100,000 indirect jobs," says the President of the CRT.