Morocco’s Tourism Industry Faces Setbacks Amid Regional Tensions and Natural Disasters

Tough times for the hotel industry. After the powerful and devastating earthquake that shook Morocco on September 8, "business has picked up in Marrakech thanks to the IMF and World Bank meeting held in the city in October, but has collapsed since the start of the war in Gaza, 3,500 kilometers away," Faouzi Zemrani, a travel agent operating in the ochre city, told Daily Mail. He will add that there have been "cancellations, as well as a sharp drop in bookings this winter." This is evidenced by the statements of several hotels in Marrakech. They confirmed to Reuters that bookings for the end-of-year holidays were below pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels.

By normalizing its diplomatic relations with Israel in December 2020, Morocco expected a rush of Israeli tourists to the kingdom. But it is now "at a standstill," said Henri Abizker, who organizes tours for Israeli tourists. However, he hopes for a massive influx of Israeli tourists to Morocco after the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. In October, Israel had mobilized the airlines El Al, Israir and Arkia for the repatriation of reservists located in Morocco, Greece and Turkey.