Morocco’s Tourism Recovery Delayed Until 2023 Amid New COVID Variant Concerns

The appearance of the new strain of the coronavirus has buried any hope of a short-term recovery among operators who thus see their dream slip away. As a result, no more foreign tourists have set foot on the kingdom’s territory since the tightening of the conditions imposed on European travelers due to the emergence of this new variant of the pandemic, observes Médias24.com. Even the glimmer of hope sparked by the vaccination campaign among operators has faded.

To be convinced of this, the media interviewed two professionals. According to one of them, who is a source close to the Ministry of Tourism, the slight stirring observed in Marrakech and Agadir in December was completely wiped out by the recent European restrictions due to the appearance of the new, more dangerous and more contagious strain of the virus. This situation has severely penalized the host countries, including Morocco, which have suffered a new disaffection of foreign visitors "after the alert note from the Quai d’Orsay, the quarantine in France and the closure of the English and German markets".

However, he acknowledges, the sector will try "without much hope" to bounce back in March or April, despite the current period which does not show any major economic stake. Far from claiming a reversal of the current situation, the operators prefer to prepare the "best conditions for a possible recovery in the spring", he points out. Pending the summer, they will "focus on the spring holidays, even if from a health point of view, things are not looking their best for this period," he observes.

Excluding any recovery for the months of March or April and betting rather on June or July, this professional in the sector specifies that the prerequisite for this recovery is to ensure the smooth running of the vaccination campaign in the source markets and of course in Morocco. "In this way, if things go well and customer confidence returns, we will have better conditions to start working again," he says, assuring that he places "a lot of hope in the summer but all our recovery assumptions are based on the end of the vaccination campaign".

Speaking about the delay in the vaccination campaign in Morocco, which has already experienced several postponements, he believes that this will not prevent foreign arrivals. "Knowing that Morocco should soon receive its vaccines, it will be able to quickly welcome visitors because even the countries that started their campaign very early are not yet ready," he clarifies, basing himself on the current growth of domestic tourism which, according to him, will support the sector while waiting for the return of foreign arrivals. To this end, he is pleased with the many domestic arrivals in Ifrane, Dakhla and other cities. In conclusion, he states that a real recovery of activity is subject to collective immunity, which could last until the last quarter of 2021.