Some rififi within the National Tourism Confederation (CNT). The committee of experts responsible for establishing a study on the revival of tourism is ordered to review its copy. Presented on February 2 in Marrakech to all members of the CNT, the study was not validated. The Steering Committee expressed reservations on certain points raised and decided to review the report presented, to readjust certain proposals.
The CNT is giving itself one month to review these proposals and promises to take into account the observations and suggestions of all the members of the steering committee, indicates the confederation. As a reminder, the CNT had appointed a committee of experts chaired by Amyn Alami to define a strategy for reviving the sector.
Once validated, this strategy carried out by the private sector should be submitted to the Ministry of Tourism to define a new common vision between public and private sectors. Because, despite these performances achieved in the tourism sector, we are still far from the 20 million tourists expected for 2020. The sector was barely able to attract 11 million tourists in this record year that was 2017.
There is still a long way to go to achieve the objectives set in 2010. Certainly, the economic crises have had their effect, but so has the absence of a recovery strategy. It is with this in mind that the committee of experts defined a new strategy, but clearly, its recommendations – which were not disclosed to the media – were not to the taste of all members.
According to professionals, there are two areas of contention between the authors of the study and the members of the CNT: governance and the reintegration of the CNT within the CGEM. Two subjects which visibly irritate professionals who are on the eve of an elective assembly scheduled for March 16.
Names of candidates are circulating, but nothing official yet. Thus, Hamid Bentahar, conductor of Accor’s luxury brands in Morocco and also president of the regional tourism council, would be a candidate to succeed Abdelatif Kabbaj. Bentahar could appear in tandem with Abbas El Azzouzi, CEO of H.Partners and former CEO of the ONMT.
Another candidate could run in the CNT elections on March 16. This is Omar Kabbaj, CEO of Interedec and former president of the CRT of Casablanca.
source: The Economist
