Morocco Shifts Tourism Focus to Domestic Market Amid Travel Restrictions

The suspension of flights in mid-March has put tourism activity in difficulty. As a result, the number of tourists has fallen by 45% and that of overnight stays by around 43% during the first four months of the year.

Faced with this situation, the authorities have focused on a communication plan, highlighting the country’s wealth. It is a matter of adapting the offer to the national demand, knowing that the Moroccan clientele represents 35 to 40%. Better, the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) invites citizens to travel in their country as soon as the state of health emergency is lifted.

However, with the extension of the deconfinement date, any hope of recovery remains gloomy. "It’s a blow to the morale of hoteliers who were expecting to welcome Moroccan customers by mid-June," confides an anonymous operator to AFP.

Before the crisis, tourism accounted for around 10% of the Moroccan economy, considering the variety of currencies it generates.

Last year, Moroccans spent nearly two billion dirhams on foreign travel, an amount that the public authorities hope to see spent in the country. A certain number of them are just waiting for the borders to open to come to the country.