Moroccan Tourism Slumps as Curfews and Restrictions Dampen New Year’s Travel

The start of the winter season, generally conducive to happy opportunities for the sector, has been a disaster this year, due to the establishment of a national curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., and the ban on festivities, which have cooled tourists, both domestic and international, with around 30% of hotel cancellations.

The slight improvement marked by the arrival of domestic tourists in the ochre city in the last days of December did not help. The expected miracle was not there, as there was much less attendance than in previous years, according to a reliable source who requested anonymity to Medias24. Even if the figures for the last days of 2020 are not yet known, "the 100 hotels open out of the 200 existing in the city had to record for the whole of December a drop in attendance of 70 to 80% compared to the same month of 2019," the source added.

However, "to reverse the trend, we will not only be able to count on the upcoming vaccination campaign which will reassure and boost tourist flows, because there are other conditions to be met beforehand," the interlocutor stressed, taking the example of the city of Dubai, a rival of Marrakech, which has managed to attract a good number of tourists during the holiday period by easing its restrictions.

Thus, in view of the health situation which does not bode anything really reassuring, it will be necessary to "reconcile" the health of tourists and their desire to travel. It is therefore up to the authorities to make the right decisions by easing the restrictive measures on Moroccan territory, and by increasing air links, to allow the sector to survive, especially for the February school holidays, as professionals in the sector have been hoping for this announcement since last Ramadan.