Moroccan Hotel Industry Struggles to Recover as COVID-19 Restrictions Ease

The statistics of new coronavirus cases are still in the red, as Morocco is about to cross the deconfinement threshold. While some companies have started the deconfinement process with their staff and customers, the hotel industry is at a standstill, indicates the MAP. As a result, thousands of accommodation establishments (hotels and inns) have been operating at a slow pace for 3 months, due to confinement and the closure of air, land and sea borders.

Mired in many debts, some establishments have still responded massively to the national solidarity effort. They have made their hotels available to some Covid patients and healthcare personnel.

Pending the resumption of activities, the National Federation of the Hotel Industry (FNIH) has made proposals for urgent measures to be taken in administrations proposed by the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT), to the Ministry of Tourism and to relieve hoteliers to cushion the effect of the crisis on their sector, particularly in terms of deferring social, tax and banking maturities.

The federation also proposed the extension, until December 31, of the moratorium on the repayment of loan maturities and the exemption from taxes and social security contributions during the crisis period, the reduction of VAT to bring it to 5%, the reduction of local and municipal taxes, as well as the activation of the refund of VAT credits.