Morocco Reopens Airspace, Sparking Tourism Revival in Marrakech

On Thursday, the Moroccan government announced the reopening of the airspace, which had been closed since November 29, 2021 to flights departing and arriving in Morocco, starting February 7. "This decision comes in accordance with the legal provisions relating to the management of the state of health emergency and following the recommendations of the scientific and technical commission and taking into account the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the kingdom," it said in a statement. Enough to delight tourism professionals.

"We are very happy to have a reopening date and a prospect of being able to welcome our customers again and, beyond that, to know that the entire tourism industry in Marrakech but also in Morocco will be able to resume its activity. It was a necessity given the extreme difficulties it was facing. However, we are waiting to know the still pending access conditions, hoping that air transport will be able to reorganize very quickly," said Caroline Bauchet-Bouhlal, Deputy Managing Director of Es Saadi Marrakech Resort, one of the major establishments in the ochre city, in an interview with the newspaper Le Figaro.

This establishment is already gearing up for the resumption of its activities. "We will reopen the Palace and its restaurants as of February 10, announces the manager. We have made the effort to maintain the entire team (600 employees for the entire resort) which allows us this agility. But we also hope that the borders will remain open throughout 2022 as is the case in other countries. The entire tourism chain needs to be able to work, reposition itself and restore confidence with operators."

Es Saadi Marrakech Resort is already receiving calls from its customers. "As we are in the spirit of a ’family home’, our regular customers contacted us as early as Friday morning (January 28), as they were eagerly awaiting the reopening. We will have feedback on the requests in the coming days. For February, travelers have probably already organized themselves." The establishment is betting on Easter. "3 hours from European capitals, spring is a very beautiful season, and we are mobilizing to offer our customers an enchanting break in compliance with the protocols. We have taken the lead and were one of the very first Moroccan hotels to be certified in terms of protection against Covid-19 by Cristal International Standards and the protocol is applied throughout the resort."