Morocco Unveils Ambitious Plan to Revitalize Tourism Sector Post-COVID

Special credits, the Damane Relance product for hotels, carriers and travel agents, 2000 DH for employees until the end of December... The government wants to save the tourism sector.

The program contract for tourism is structured around three axes: "maintaining jobs and preserving the economic fabric, stimulating demand and the structural transformation of the sector," reports L’Économiste. Similarly, this contract contains 21 measures intended to respond to the preservation of the economic fabric and employment, the acceleration of the sector’s start-up phase, specifies the same source.

In detail, a moratorium until December 31 on credits and leasing has been granted to solvent tourism companies before the crisis and to employees. There are also state-guaranteed loans that will be granted to the sector. These are a Damane Relance for SMEs/VSEs with a turnover of less than 10 million DH and a Damane Relance hôtellerie, a special hotel loan at an interest rate of 3.5%.

Each employee in the sector (hoteliers, tourist carriers and travel agents) will continue to benefit from the flat-rate allowance of 2000 DH provided that 80% of the employees are maintained. It is up to the employer to guarantee the rest of the salary and to ensure access to social security for all employees. As for the guides, they will also benefit from aid of 2000 DH provided that they comply with the legislation in force.

These measures are certainly commendable but without visibility on the opening of borders, professionals are convinced that the sector will remain devastated.