Morocco Reopens Borders, Sparking Surge in Tourism Bookings

The resumption of air links was effective this Monday. "It’s excellent news, which we have been waiting for for a long time," enthuses Fouzi Zemrani, a tour operator in Marrakech, speaking to L’Express. "We will finally be able to breathe and get to work. Now we have to try to save the spring-summer season, because for this winter, it’s already too late." In Morocco, the tourism sector has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The reopening of Moroccan airspace is thus giving hope to nearly 550,000 people, as well as to the informal economy players such as porters, taxi drivers, self-proclaimed guides and other street vendors.

"The phone won’t stop ringing, we’re booking for the February holidays and already for the April ones," enthuses Kamil Ennadifi, the owner of the Selman Palace Hotel, located on the outskirts of Marrakech. In a press release, the management of Marrakech-Menara International Airport, Morocco’s leading tourist destination, also announced that 28 flights from France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey were scheduled for this Monday, February 7.