Morocco’s Tourism Sector Eyes November Recovery Amid Pandemic Challenges

It will still be necessary to wait until next November for the relaunch of the tourism sector, weighed down by the health crisis. While the 2020-2022 roadmap is ready, the international market, which represents 70% of Morocco’s tourism revenue, is still awaiting visibility to program the Moroccan destination for the 2020/2021 season which starts in 4 or 5 months, reports Challenge.ma.

For many professionals in the sector, the lack of state intervention and overhaul of the sector’s governance risks, despite its recognized resilience, leading to its collapse. After being hit hard by the health crisis, this key sector of the national economy is already suffering from a shortfall of 8.3 billion DH, between March and May 2020, due to the pandemic. And yet, a year earlier, the sector, which had multiplied good performances in recent years as in 2019, during which travel receipts reached more than 78 billion DH against 73 billion DH, is in the doldrums and is experiencing its biggest crisis. Pending the launch of the next tourist season, two scenarios for evolution and recovery are envisaged by the supervisory minister.

According to the magazine, the most optimistic scenario recommends, for this current year, a decrease of -70%, which would mean that the Moroccan destination would only receive 4 million tourists (31 billion DH in tourism revenue). For the 2020-2021 season, this figure should reach 11.8 million tourists (70 billion DH in tourism revenue) and 13.2 million tourists (79 billion DH in tourism revenue (against 12.9 million in 2019). As for the most pessimistic case, it plans for the Moroccan destination 2.2 million foreign tourists this year, 8.8 million next year and 11.6 million in 2021. In other words, national tourism should regain its pre-crisis level in terms of arrivals at border posts (12.9 million in 2019) by 2021.

Pending the relaunch of the tourism sector, tourist accommodation establishments have started to reopen with 16% of their capacity. They now have a health guide, bringing together recommendations and allowing to guarantee the health and safety of people, and massive campaigns to test employees are launched. For now, Royal Air Maroc and Air Arabia have also resumed flights with special programs for Moroccans living abroad and foreign residents in Morocco.