Omicron Surge Devastates Essaouira’s Tourism Industry, Businesses Plead for Aid

The persistence of the crisis due to the spread of the Omicron variant, leading to the recent health restrictions, have plunged these tourism stakeholders back into uncertainty. Some restaurateurs have ceased their activity, while others hope for state aid announced by the supervisory minister, reports L’Opinion.

On social networks, merchants, restaurateurs, hoteliers, craftsmen and artists are crying for help, calling on the authorities to act quickly to prevent the death of the sector in the city. One could read: "Restaurants are dying, help us and share", or even "With all the goodwill in the world, reality catches up with us!" Worse still "How to pay the rent?", or "How to feed my family?", etc.

Interviewed about the situation by the newspaper, most of these stakeholders mentioned the latest restrictions that led to the cancellation of many bookings, which dealt a severe blow to their turnover.

For his part, the president of the Hotel Industry Association, Mohammed Saouti, said that there was not yet an "effective recovery in the hotel industry, nor a recovery for that matter."

And to add: "as hoteliers, we had just started to breathe a little when certain restrictions fell such as the announcements of the suspension of flights with certain countries, the introduction of the vaccination pass and the cancellation of the organization of the general assembly of the World Tourism Organization which was to take place in Marrakech".