At the end of the first six months of the year, tourism revenue in Morocco decreased by 33.2%, or 11.1 billion dirhams. In order to limit the harmful effects of the health crisis on the tourism sector and accelerate its recovery, a program contract covering the period 2020-2022 was signed between public and private actors.
This revelation comes at a time when the authorities have decided on new severe restriction measures in Casablanca and Marrakech, cities important to Morocco’s economy and tourism, to deal with the new outbreak of Covid-19 contagion cases. The measures include an increase in controls on people, asked not to leave the house except in cases of extreme necessity, with the obligation to have authorization, as during the three months of drastic confinement imposed last spring.
There will also be time restrictions for bars, shops and restaurants and for public parks. Several beaches have also been closed in Casablanca while those around Rabat have already been closed for several days. An increase in infections has been occurring in Morocco since the start of the month, with around a thousand new infections per day. Today there were 1,325 and 32 deaths in the last 24 hours. In the country, which has a population of 35 million, there are so far 47,638 infected people and 775 victims
Tourist arrivals fell by 63% at the end of June 2020 and overnight stays in accommodation establishments by 59%. In June, the number of overnight stays amounted to 68,199, a drop of 97% in one year, indicated the DEPF, adding that a more favorable trend, although modest, is expected in the coming months, Due to the reactivation of the local tourist market with health measures which allow, initially, the exploitation of only 50% of the accommodation capacity, combined with the resumption of domestic flights in the Kingdom from the same date.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates that by 2020, the decline in international arrivals will be between 60% and 80%. The immediate consequence is a drop in global tourism spending of between $800 and $1 billion, or 60% compared to 2019.
In Morocco, the estimated impact of this crisis by 2020 is a 69% drop in tourist arrivals, a 60% drop in foreign exchange earnings and a loss of around 50% of jobs.
In order to limit the negative effects of this crisis on the tourism sector and accelerate its recovery, a program contract was signed on August 3, covering the period 2020-2022. In this, public and private actors participate at national and regional levels, in order to restore the sector to its pre-crisis results.
source:panorapost
