If the current pandemic has dealt a hard blow to the national tourism sector, it has nevertheless brought the debate on the promotion of domestic tourism up to date, inspiring numerous proposals to boost reservations by nationals in tourist establishments across the Kingdom.
The latest one is currently being examined by the legislative institution. This is a proposed law on encouraging internal tourism via the holiday voucher mechanism initiated by the Istiqlalien Group of Unity and Egalitarianism. This initiative comes a few weeks after the adoption of the 2020 amending finance law which provides for an exemption from Income Tax (IR) of benefits and bonuses granted to employees in the form of holiday vouchers.
Very popular in France where it was established in 1982, the Chèque-Vacances is an aid service aimed at encouraging employees to go on vacation and which makes accessible a wide range of transport, hotel and catering services in a logic of social cohesion and the fight against exclusion.
According to the said bill, it is essential to remedy the obstacles hindering the development of domestic tourism, in particular those relating to the purchasing power of the middle class, hence the need to put in place a mechanism dedicated to supporting internal demand, in this case, holiday vouchers.
The document praises the positive effects that such a system could have on both households and tourism professionals, thus allowing the middle class to see their travel and leisure budget increase and boosting national tourist destinations, which will result in job creation and additional tax revenue.
To ensure broad support from employers and employees for this system, this bill provides numerous tax advantages, by establishing the deductibility of employer contributions made within the framework of holiday vouchers. In addition, the employers’ contribution will be considered as a supplement to the net salary exempt from IR (income tax) and social charges.
Faced with unfair competition from informal accommodation from which professionals suffer, the holiday voucher, by being valid only at approved tourist establishments, could limit this scourge which is growing more and more. “Beyond the undeniable support for the purchasing power of the national tourist, the holiday voucher will contribute to the fight against the informal sector and the development of structures which fulfill their tax and social obligations”, declared to MAP, Fouzi Zemrani, General Vice-President of the National Tourism Confederation (CNT).
The holiday voucher could be a sort of bonus funded jointly by companies and the State to which would be added voluntary participation from employees in the form of holiday savings, explains Mr. Zemrani, noting that this mechanism will ensure access to holidays for the greatest number of people, the improvement of hotel occupancy rates and the creation of a dynamic of internal tourism.
If this mechanism arouses so much interest and enthusiasm in the political and economic spheres, it is thanks to its resounding success in countries like France where the figures speak for themselves on the craze for holiday vouchers. In 2018 alone, some 4.5 million people benefited from holiday vouchers which reached a net issue volume of 1.67 billion euros, according to figures from the National Agency for Holiday Vouchers (ANCV).
An instrument of solidarity, the Chèque-Vacances issued by the ANCV intended to encourage as many people as possible to go on vacation, is distributed exclusively on the basis of social criteria to employees to cover services ranging from accommodation and transport to culture and discovery and sports leisure activities via this means accepted in a large network of reception points.
While the main source markets are struggling to recover from the harmful consequences of the health crisis, the national tourism industry which is highly dependent on foreign flows is called upon more than ever to turn towards a local clientele with strong growth potential, a change of direction which requires the mobilization of all stakeholders to ensure the emergence of a sustained internal demand capable of restarting a tourism sector on which thousands of direct and indirect jobs depend.
source: infomediaire.net
