While Moroccan authorities work to save the tourism sector as quickly as possible, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) remains skeptical. The body suggested that Morocco will still have to wait to see its numerous tourists parade through the main arteries of the main tourist cities including Tangier, Marrakech, Agadir and Meknes.
The UNWTO is clear that the rebound in international tourism is expected in the third quarter of 2021 or even in 2022. In its latest report, published on Tuesday October 27, the institution stressed that international tourist arrivals will decrease by almost 70% for the rest of the year. This is because travel demand largely remains weak due to continued uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and lack of confidence.
Morocco, Africa’s leading tourist destination, will have to adopt new strategies to deal with its negative effects in this sector. Tourism, representing 7.1% of its GDP, absolutely needs an “effective recovery plan” to avoid the loss of employment. With this in mind, the Moroccan authorities are working hard to satisfy this sector which has generated more than 70 billion in foreign currency revenue (official statistics).
For the Minister of Tourism, Crafts, Air Transport and Social Economy, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Morocco must relaunch its tourism with more serenity and more ambition, despite the health crisis it is going through. The Shereef kingdom, she underlines, is seeking “the path to salvation” for this key sector of the economy, which has already recorded a loss of more than a billion euros in the health crisis.
Moreover, the organization argued that travel restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to hit global tourism hard. According to its figures, international tourist arrivals fell by 69% during the first eight months of 2020 in Africa and the Middle East.
source:financialafrik
