Morocco Sees Domestic Tourism as Key to Post-Covid Economic Recovery

"Despite the uncertainties and the differentiated restrictive health measures at the territorial level, domestic tourism has played a cushioning role during the crisis," indicates the Directorate of Studies and Financial Forecasts (DEPF), under the Ministry of Economy and Finance in a Policy brief entitled "Potential of domestic tourism as a post-Covid recovery lever". According to the data collected by the DEPF, domestic tourism plays a salvage role but remains "dependent on travel restrictions and the differentiated specialization of tourist territories," reports La Vie Éco.

To support its argument, the DEPF highlights some statistics. Arrivals of domestic tourists in classified tourist accommodation establishments (EHTC) contracted by 59.5% in 2020, compared to -80.7% for inbound tourism, reaching 1.4 million tourists, the department explains, citing the maintenance of a minimum tourist activity with a market share of domestic tourism of 57% of total arrivals, an increase of 18 points compared to 2019.

As for the overnight stays of Moroccan residents, they fell by 55.4% in 2020 compared to -72.4% for inbound tourism, reaching 3.5 million overnight stays. The average per tourist is maintained at 2.4 overnight stays compared to 3.2 for non-residents. These figures thus confirm the role of domestic tourism in maintaining the tourism production system during the crisis, "with the consolidation of its market share at 50% of total overnight stays against 31% in 2019".