Morocco’s Tourist Transport Sector Faces Crisis as COVID-19 Shutdown Continues

Sounding the alarm, the Secretary General of the National Federation of Tourist Transport in Morocco (FNTT Maroc) indicated that the sector is sinking into agony and the situation of tourist transport companies is worsening day by day, while there is no sign of the imminent resumption of activities.

"In the absence of a reaction from the government, things are likely to get worse," says Mohamed Bamansour, who warns of the bankruptcy of 10% of the entrepreneurs in the sector, where 1,640 agencies are involved. In addition to these few thousand that were operating before the crisis, 160 new structures received their accreditation in 2020 but have never been able to start their activities and are heavily in debt, he bitterly notes.

The Secretary General of the FNTT Maroc, however, points out that the majority of professionals will continue to suffer the repercussions of this crisis 36 months after the return to normal.

The other issue that concerns the professionals of tourist transport is related to financing. And on this subject, Mr. Bamansour affirms that 79% of the structures financed by the financing companies have not been able to meet their commitments and are consequently harassed by the financial support institutions despite the moratorium concerning the repayment of credits in favor of tourist transport companies that are bending under the weight of debt. Clause 7 of the program contract stipulates that the deferrals are activated without interest and without penalties, he details, adding that the federation has received the claims of no less than 300 companies for more than 1,400 loan files.

"The rejection of some deferral requests, the use of exorbitant interest rates for accepted files, threats of vehicle seizure... For some operators, legal proceedings have been initiated by banks and finance companies for unpaid bills during this pandemic," Bamansour further details.

Faced with the situation, the FNTT Maroc is calling for arbitration from Bank Al Maghrib following the failure of various negotiations with the GPBM and the APSF. Beyond this arbitration, the federation is calling for urgent action to preserve the sector, protect the interests of investors and support the thousands of employees and their families.

It concretely proposes a deferral of loan repayments with a single and supportive rate guaranteed by the CCG, similar to the "Damane Oxygène" and "Relance" credits, which it considers unsuitable for the nature of the activity. The federation also proposes the maintenance of the monthly Covid lump-sum allowance until the end of the pandemic. Bamansour and his colleagues also recommend extending the Covid allowance to seasonal workers or those who lost their jobs before February 2020.

Speaking of taxes, the tourist carriers wish the suspension of any levy or payment of tax arrears or fiscal charges during the period of the state of health emergency.