Marrakech Tourism Struggles as Most Hotels Remain Shuttered Amid Travel Restrictions

Hotel professionals may hope for the measures announced by the Minister of Tourism, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, but nothing has moved. She had emphasized the preservation of employment (at least 80% of the workforce compared to February 2020) and the good health of companies’ cash flow. "The measures that will enable the achievement of these two objectives will be operational as of this week," she had specified in an interview with L’Économiste on August 11.

In Marrakech, only 39 hotels, including Kenzi, Radissson, Rotana Golf, Sofitel, have reopened out of 450, with an occupancy rate of 10%. Conversely, the large palaces such as the Royal Mansour, the Four Seasons, the Mamounia (undergoing renovation) have remained closed. The reason? Their clientele is mainly international and cannot come to Morocco due to the closure of borders. The guest houses in the ochre city have also closed their doors due to the lack of customers and the ban on travel to and from Marrakech and seven other cities in the kingdom.