Moroccan Travel Industry Hit Hard as Coronavirus Fears Spark Cancellations

Cancellation of bookings and requests for refunds, temporary suspension of round-trip flights between Casablanca and Beijing, between France and Morocco operated by Royal Air Maroc (RAM) aircraft, suspension of Umrah... Travel agencies are in difficulty.

"Travel agencies are really impacted by this situation. There are a lot of cancellations. We are collecting information to have the exact figures of this impact. (...) During the months of March and April which could have been a high season, travel agencies come out of it with empty pockets, since everything has been canceled. It’s drastic! We are a stricken sector and the insurances can do nothing," Khalid Benazouz, president of the National Federation of Travel Agencies of Morocco (FNAVM), told la MAP.

According to him, this sector has been weakened and risks bankruptcy. "There is a problem of employment and social stability. The state must think with us to prepare a rescue plan," he said. Faced with this economic gloom, Benazouz suggests that the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) grant the players in this sector a moratorium on payments. "It is necessary to set up a support fund, especially for small businesses that are suffering doubly given their balance sheets and social charges," he said.

To reverse the trend, the president of the FNAVM is betting on the preservation of the existing. "A relaunch will come in four or five months; but in the meantime, it will be necessary to pay its various charges and cope with the expenses of the month of Ramadan," he reassured.