Morocco’s Mountain Tourism Hit Hard by COVID-19 Pandemic

"We had a good start, especially with foreign visitors, but the pandemic has abruptly stopped our activity," laments Youssef Mouhyi, director of the "Maison de la cédraie", an ecomuseum opened in January 2020. Like him, Moulay Abdellah Lahrizi, 55, owner of the Auberge des Jardins d’Azrou, is experiencing the same situation. He has lost 70% of his clientele. "The influx of foreigners was constant throughout the year (2020). Today we have to adapt to a local clientele," confides to AFP the Swiss-Moroccan who returned to his native country to venture into tourism. Health restrictions are the cause of the halt in group walks, seminars and other collective events.

"The proximity to large cities and the epidemiological situation of the region, where very few cases are recorded, encourage people to come. But we are far from the mark, as the influx is episodic," says the owner of the gîte nestled a few kilometers from Ifrane. Rachid Hamidi, a seller of mineral stones in the cedar forest of Azrou, expresses concerns. "The few passing tourists take photos and move on. It happens that I go home without having sold anything," laments this 34-year-old man.

The situation seems rather gloomy in Ifrane, located at 1,800 meters altitude and often nicknamed "the little Switzerland". A rush to this city is observed on weekends. "Before the pandemic, I instinctively spent my vacations abroad, but coronavirus obliges, I decided to explore the region," testifies Ayman, 30, an intern in intensive care in a hospital in Rabat. "There is a lot to see in Morocco and in addition I contribute to the tourism economy of the country, which has been severely affected by the crisis," he adds.

According to the tourism department, Ifrane recorded a record attendance in early January with an occupancy rate of 95%. "It is the only destination in Morocco that has achieved this feat during the pandemic," notes Mariem Ouadaani, director of the Provincial Delegation of Tourism of Ifrane. However, this weekend influx will not be enough to save the winter season in Ifrane. "During the week, the city is empty," notes the manager of the restaurant ’L’empreinte’. "This is problematic, because our costs are fixed but our revenues are not."