Morocco Reopens Airspace: Tourism Industry Eyes Recovery Amid Access Concerns

"The National Confederation of Tourism (CNT) can only welcome this excellent news, which responds to the repeated demand for the past two months from the entire tourism ecosystem, but the most important thing will be to implement access conditions to the territory that are satisfactory both internally and internationally," Hamid Bentahar explains to Médias24. According to him, if these simple and fluid conditions are met, the activity, which will take some time to resume, can accelerate.

"But if we put back the same access conditions as before the closure, for example forcing a foreign traveler tested positive on arrival to take the plane back home, some airlines will not be tempted to serve Morocco again," warns the president of the CNT. However, he calls for playing the card of health vigilance "by putting in place a simplified reception protocol that has proven itself in Morocco’s competing destinations, which require their visitors to have a valid vaccination certificate, accompanied by a negative PCR test less than seventy-two hours old."

"The second lever will be to make this reopening decision permanent, by mobilizing all efforts at the health level so as never again to have to close our borders," adds Hamid Bentahar. It is a question of assuring foreign partners (T.O., airlines...) that there will be no going back. According to him, the resumption of activity agenda will depend on the access conditions that will be announced before the effective reopening of the airspace as of February 7. "If they are in line with what is done elsewhere, and there is no longer any question of closing our borders, it is likely that the airlines will gradually return next summer."

"In reality, the access conditions are more important than the opening decision, because it is necessary to restore confidence for these foreign carriers who more than ever need visibility," argues the president of the CNT.