Morocco’s Travel Agencies Face Challenges Under New Regulatory Law

Law 11-16 governing the activity of travel agencies is not well received. Mohamed Semlali, president of the National Federation of Travel Agencies Associations of Morocco, laments that his organization has never been involved in the development of this law, nor in the discussion of the implementing decrees. "Law 11-16 does not take into account the challenges facing travel agencies. We are not just distributors. We bring added value that the current legislation seems to ignore," he reacted to Challenge. He believes that this situation is likely to cause dramatic damage to travel agencies.

"Currently, anyone can open an agency in just 48 hours, without any competence or knowledge of the sector. Just deposit a deposit of two hundred thousand dirhams at the CDG and the job is done," he explains, stressing that this undermines the credibility of established agencies that invest in training and quality of service. He was keen to recall that in the old law, "we imposed clear standards for travel agencies, such as the need to have a director approved by the ministry."

"This requirement provided a guarantee of professionalism and competence in the sector. Also, the previous law stipulated that a minimum of five people had to be hired to operate an agency. This promoted job development and ensured that each agency had a qualified team to provide quality service," explains Semlali, also deploring that clear obligations have not been defined in the new text. According to him, this disadvantages local travel agencies compared to their international competitors. Moreover, the lack of clear requirements promotes a certain form of deregulation, making agencies vulnerable to unfair competition.

However, industry professionals have welcomed certain measures included in the new law. "Despite the concerns raised by law 11-16, it is important to recognize that it could also be an opportunity to regulate the sector and fight informality. Indeed, many people offer travel services online without ever declaring them. This new legislation could help bring order to this market by allowing qualified travel agencies to compete with these informal offers. By promoting healthy competition, we can also ensure better consumer protection," Semlali points out.