Morocco Tourism Industry Pushes to End PCR Test Requirement for Air Travelers

Tourists arriving in Morocco must compulsorily present a vaccination pass and the negative result of a PCR test less than 48 hours before boarding the plane. This condition strongly hinders the revival of tourism activities, according to professionals, particularly the tourism promotion campaign initiated by the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT), reports l’Économiste.

For Hamid Bentahar, president of the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT), "failing the lifting of this provision, we at least demand alignment with what has been decided for access to the territory by sea". The official believes that the campaign is above all a complement to all the efforts that have been made by operators (hoteliers, travel agents, guides, restaurateurs) despite the crisis.

"It is also a complement to the efforts made in the air sector with the return of transport companies," continues Bentahar, adding that "in the face of these immense efforts, a large-scale campaign was needed to accompany those who resist and those who hesitate to resume and reopen their doors".

Also as optimistic as his colleague, the Secretary General of the Regional Association of the Hotel Industry of Marrakech/Safi, Mustapha Amalik, indicated that "the content is a priori relevant. What is more relevant is the timing and the simultaneous in 22 countries. A choice that allows to reach all the supplier countries and new promising markets that are in the process of settling, like Israel."