Fleur of national tourism, Marrakech experienced an exceptional year and an “unprecedented crisis” due to the situation induced by the spread of Covid-19, which brought to its knees and caused great harm to the entire tourist ecosystem of the ocher city.
Indeed, since Morocco closed its borders in mid-March, the Kingdom’s leading tourist destination seemed to have the air of a « soulless city », giving way to nostalgia for the time when residents and visitors struggled to find a place to park near the vibrant medina and its markets or even near the mythical Jemâa El Fna square, which, always teeming, has never been so deserted.
Thus, 2020 was by no means a tourist year for the main national destination. The challenge therefore remains high: to give new impetus to a sector hit hard by this global health crisis, which, in the opinion of experts, will take time.
The city of the Seven Saints was, of course, in dire straits for several months. However, since the outbreak of this pandemic, tourism professionals in the Ocher City, in coordination with the authorities, local elected officials and civil society, have not skimped on the means to face, with serenity, seriousness and a high sense of responsibility, the very harmful repercussions of Covid-19.
Optimism clearly remained measured regarding the rapid recovery of tourist activity. Approached by the MAP, professionals continued to demonstrate their awareness of the major challenges to be addressed for a better rebound of the main sector contributing to the city’s economy. The end of the tunnel is far away after such a long period of lean times: that is, in short, the main thing that emerged from their declarations.
To overcome this unprecedented situation, the general mobilization and federation of the energies of the different actors and stakeholders have indeed taken place to try to save the 2020 tourist season which will forever remain in the annals.
In this wake, a meeting was held last September in the ocher city, to examine the state of affairs in the sector, in the presence of the Minister of Tourism, Crafts, Air Transport and the Social Economy, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, professionals and the wali of the Marrakech-Safi region, Karim Kassi Lahlou.
On this occasion, Ms. Fettah Alaoui recognized that Marrakech, as a tourist destination par excellence both nationally and internationally, has “suffered enormously” from the consequences of this health crisis.
The work of this meeting focused on several themes, the most important of which related to the program contract from which this sector has benefited since last August. It was mainly a matter of “explaining and re-explaining” the measures and listening to professionals and certain sectors having difficulty applying or benefiting from them.
In the same vein, tourism stakeholders, public and private, as well as partners of the Regional Tourism Council (CRT) have decided to “go on the offensive” to save the 2020/2021 winter season.
The professionals showed a common desire to act together, in perfect coordination with all elected officials and local authorities, in particular the wilaya of the region, for “a responsible recovery” of the sector, which is based around the “3Rs”: “Restart, Relaunch and Reinvent”.
“It is a question of restarting, reopening and resolving to live with the virus, which constitutes an imperative to get the ecosystem back up and running while respecting barrier gestures and health protocols, reconnecting with international partners to reconquer our market shares and continuing to act together, particularly in lifting travel restrictions and restoring confidence among travelers,” explained the CRT, emphasizing the need to reinvent and re-imagine new concepts and programs and new offers more supportive, creative, collaborative and to adapt the sector to future realities.
The execution of the program contract constitutes a major achievement for safeguarding employment in the most affected sectors of tourism activity and mobilization continues so that other actors in the value chain (tourist restaurants, crafts, entertainment activities and events, etc.) are also covered, noted the CRT.
In the process, the Council launched, in partnership with the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT), a communication campaign relayed on the media, social networks and on the “visitmarrakech” platform.
Aware of the need to reinvent ourselves, professionals in the region worked for months on “an acceleration plan, adapted to the situation, which will mark a decisive turning point in our approach to designing, producing and marketing increasingly innovative and demand-stimulating solutions,” according to the same source.
With this in mind, several new features have been designed and others to come by theme and by territory as part of the 2021-2022 acceleration plan, said the CRT.
In short, it is a global plan to adapt the region’s different destinations, stimulate jobs, encourage innovation and investment, and rethink a more efficient, more sustainable and more inclusive travel and hospitality industry.
In the same wake, the reaction of the Regional Association of Travel Agencies of Marrakech-Safi was quick: it proceeded to broadcast video capsules on social networks, which are intended to be an invitation to rediscover the charm and magic of the beaches in the region, under the sign “Naktachfou Bhourna” (Let’s discover our beaches!).
On the other hand, the reopening of prestigious hotel establishments, as well as the arrival of the first foreign tourists in October at Marrakech-Menara international airport, were seen as a strong, reassuring signal and herald of a gradual revival of tourist activity in the Ocher City.
The expectations of professionals in the tourism industry, as well as the city’s inhabitants, who continue to nourish hope and optimism for a better tomorrow, are certainly numerous. But the challenges to be met are also significant and require the pooling of efforts to encourage a rebound on the right track in this vital niche of the local economy.
The tourism sector in Marrakech thus experienced, in 2020, the weakest year in terms of performance due to the pandemic, the effects of which weighed down activity for months.
However, optimism and mobilization are the key words that emerge from the words of local tourism professionals and stakeholders, who have the capacity, experience and skills necessary to enable them to strengthen the resilience of this sector, the locomotive of the regional and national economy.
The end of the tunnel still remains invisible with the persistence of this pandemic situation in the Kingdom and on a global scale. But hope remains for a better tomorrow for the tourism industry in the ocher city, especially with the start of the resumption of international flights.
source: lesiteinfo.com
