Moroccan Outdoor Advertising Industry Faces Crisis: 10,000 Jobs at Risk Due to COVID-19

It is the Moroccan Association of Advertising Companies (AMAP) that paints the sad picture of these companies that are struggling under "heavy royalties demanded by local authorities. The sector is also on the verge of bankruptcy." Thus, more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs are on the brink of precariousness.

And the AMAP is outraged by "public domain operating royalties that have increased by 500 to 600%, from 12,000 to 60,000 - 100,000 dirhams per year and per panel over the last 10 years; even though the average selling price of a panel face has gone from 15,000 dirhams to 4,000 dirhams per month during the same period," adds Adil Lahlou, president of the Association.

Furthermore, the royalty for certain panels called "unipoles" is set between 100,000 and 200,000 dirhams depending on the zoning. Finally, we pay a royalty per panel for two faces, but we generate turnover from a single face," points out Adil Lahlou.

The immediate exemption from royalties is the way to save the sector. In the opinion of all the professionals concerned, to save the activity, action must be taken on the royalties, both at the level of the local authorities and the electricity boards, to avoid a wave of layoffs and closures that will even affect the largest companies.

"The problem will arise in a few months, when there will be nothing to recover since we have not billed anything during the confinement period. We are sounding the alarm," warns M’hammed Fahmi, vice-president of AMAP.