Marrakech Tourism Sector Eyes Recovery Amid Ongoing Challenges

Deploring the total cessation of tourism activities in the Marrakech-Safi region, considered as a tourist and cultural hub par excellence, the president of the Regional Association of Tourist Guides of the region, Abdessadik Qadimi, stated in a declaration to the MAP that the professionals of the sector, and mainly the tourist guides, continue to suffer the effects of the health crisis.

"Morocco has always been an attractive country and an essential destination in the eyes of many foreign tourists," he added, while remaining optimistic about the future of the sector. According to him, tourism activity will soon be relaunched, given the ongoing mass vaccination campaign against Covid-19 throughout the national territory. To prepare for this recovery, he invites the authorities to strengthen the capacities of the guides of the region in order to equip them to better welcome international travelers, in compliance with the health measures.

But in the meantime, the professionals of the sector intend to seize the opportunity of the organization of the 24th session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) scheduled for next October in the ochre city, to recharge their batteries. The Secretary General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, during a recent visit to Marrakech to inquire about the preparations for this meeting, had assured that all means will be deployed to give a special touch to this event.

"This UNWTO Assembly should mark the start of an international tourism recovery, starting with Morocco," rejoiced for his part, the president of the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT), Abdellatif Kabbaj. Moreover, the letter of intent, signed by Pololikashvili and the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, Air Transport and Social Economy, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, during the launch of the vaccination campaign, has given a signal of hope to the professionals of the Moroccan tourism sector and those of Marrakech in particular.