A total of 42 airlines, including 4 new ones, will reoperate in the Kingdom with the resumption of the sector scheduled for June 15, announced Monday the director general of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT), Adel El Fakir.
The 42 companies will serve 43 countries, said the CEO of the ONMT during a new edition of the « Tourism Marketing Days » (TMD), held under the theme « TMD Sky-Restart », specifying that the 4 companies which will be added are two Russians (S7 Airlines and Aeroflot), an Israeli company and another African.
El Fakir for this purpose recalled the placing on the market, between June 15 and September 30, of 3.5 million airline seats, or nearly three quarters of the capacity offered during the same period in 2019, ensuring that these capacities are « secure, signed and established ».
He noted, in this sense, that the action of the Office « is never as strong as when it is supported by partners and professionals », adding that this TMD meeting, held in hybrid mode, is an opportunity to develop the Office’s strategy but also to bring together national and international partners.
« We are totally ready and mobilized for the restart », he underlined in this regard, calling on all partners to unite so that this recovery is as strong as possible.
For his part, the president of the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT), Abdellatif Kabbaj, affirmed that tourist demand is very strong, advocating the total mobilization of professionals capable of getting Morocco « greater » out of this crisis which has hit the sector hard at the international level.
He, in this sense, welcomed the concrete effort of the authorities throughout the Covid ordeal to preserve the health of citizens, noting that « the warmest hope would be to have even fewer Covid-19 cases ».
Hamid Bentahar, president of the Marrakech-Safi Regional Tourism Council and vice president of the CNT, welcomed, for his part, the collective effort of all Moroccan citizens and the government since the beginning to manage the crisis period, noting that the messages from the scientific committee are positive and very reassuring on the health side.
« The vaccination campaign which is progressing extremely well is a very good demonstration of what Morocco is capable of doing in times of crisis », he said, calling on all stakeholders to come together to rebuild the markets and thus put the tourism machine back in motion.
For his part, the president of the National Federation of the Hotel Industry (FNIH), Lahcen Zelmat, indicated that the authorities have managed the health crisis which has affected the whole world well, noting that with the announcement of the opening of borders set for June 15, 2021, tourist operators are already starting to see the end of the tunnel.
He also noted that hoteliers are ready to warmly welcome tourists, specifying in this regard that all health measures have been taken to ensure a successful summer season.
Based on the positive indicators of the epidemiological situation in the Kingdom and the drop in the number of cases of infections with the new coronavirus, particularly after the expansion of vaccination campaigns, the Moroccan authorities have decided to resume flights to and from the Kingdom as of Tuesday, June 15.
source: fnh.ma
