Hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, the tourism sector in Morocco represents nearly 2 million direct and indirect jobs; revenue of around 80 billion dirhams for foreign tourism, and 45 billion dirhams for domestic tourism.
Globally, Covid-19 has plunged the tourism industry into unprecedented paralysis, caused by widespread containment measures and border closures.
The OECD predicts a 70% drop in global tourism activity if closures continue until September 2020.
Below, the ten proposals formulated by the Alliance of Istiqlalian Economists (AEI), broken down into five strategic axes.
Axis 1: adopt collegial governance to protect and restart the sector
1. Establishment of a monitoring and monitoring committee dedicated to tourism, including the government, professionals, unions and the financial system;
2. Include tourism and crafts in emergency economic measures at national and regional levels, and launch an emergency plan for the period from July 2020 to December 2022 for the gradual reopening of tourist destinations and facilities and maintaining minimum occupancy of reception infrastructure;
Axis 2: preserving jobs and strengthening know-how in the sector
3. Exempt companies that preserve an average of 50% of their employees between 2020 and 2021 from social and tax charges (IR, CNSS) until the end of 2020, and reduce them by half for 2021;
Axis 3: cleaning up the financial situation of companies operating in the sector
5. Launch a series of commercial and financial operations to generate cash and strengthen financial resources in the short and medium term;
6. Reduce the structure of operating costs and taxation of tourism and craft operators.
Axis 4: adaptation of Morocco’s tourism offer to new global health requirements
7. Create a Moroccan label with international scope “Green & Safe” by establishing ecological and health procedures and standards and ensuring their strict application;
8. Reconsider the content of the overall offer and its packaging, in particular by launching a digital transformation project for tourism operators, and by integrating medical and health tourism among the niches to be developed.
Axis 5: diversification of the internal and international tourism and craft markets
9- Stimulate internal tourism, in particular by adapting the offer to the expectations of the national middle class, by applying to Moroccan customers the pricing conditions applied to foreign groups, by increasing the number of internal air connections operated by RAM with the financial support of the regions and cities concerned, and by regionalizing the school vacation calendar to spread out the tourist season. Organize exhibition spaces for the sale of tourist packages and craft products in supermarkets;
10. Develop new economic intelligence for observing emitting countries and targeting new product-markets.
