Morocco Reopens Borders, Tourism Industry Cautiously Optimistic Amid Uncertainty

These are mainly travel agency owners who have been hit hard by the suspension of international travel to the kingdom and fear a turnaround by the health authorities, reports SnrtNews.

A few days before the reopening, several players have launched an appeal for mobilization of professionals and authorities to resume activities and restore confidence. "We must pool our efforts so as not to close the borders again, especially since all competing destinations have not closed their airspace," said Hamid Bentahar, president of the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT).

For Mustapha Aouizir, owner of a travel agency and member of the National Association of Travel Agencies of Morocco, most travel professionals are worried about the duration of this opening decision. "We are on edge, we can’t know if this situation will last, will they close again? We can’t reprogram trips and cancel them at the last minute. Even our customers no longer have confidence. We need a long-term vision to be able to resume our activity," he said.

Same tone from Salma, Deputy Managing Director of a travel agency. "We welcome the decision to reopen the borders with a lot of caution. Of course, we applaud this decision, but we don’t have a clear vision. Tourists are not motivated either. Yes, there are requests but we have seen very few bookings for fear of seeing their plans fall through at the last minute." And to add: "We have missed several appointments and several clients have turned to competing destinations. Before talking about reopening, we must prepare a strategy to restore the confidence of tourists and encourage them to choose Morocco as a destination."