This year, the health crisis would have weighed even more heavily on tourist activity than in 2020. Instead of the expected improvement during the summer season, the sector was only treated to a brief, very disappointing clearing.

« The year 2021 is proving more difficult for the tourism sector than was the year 2020 », laments Hamid Bentahar, president of the National Tourism Confederation (CNT).

“Unfortunately, we are far from a resumption of tourist activity despite an encouraging start to summer for certain seaside destinations,” he added.

Indeed, the summer season, the season of all hopes, did not live up to expectations. “This summer, seaside destinations and resorts barely experienced a clearing for a month or a month and a half. This perhaps allowed operators to limit the damage a little, but not to cope with 18 months of charges,” he reported, specifying that these destinations only represent 20% of the overall capacity.

« The large part of the capacity in Morocco is made up of imperial cities and destinations in the south of the country, which have not experienced much influx, to which is added rural tourism which has seen its activity fall by 90%, 80% for cultural destinations », he underlined.

Without forgetting the professions in the sector which have taken a massive blow and find themselves in a very difficult situation this year, even more so than the previous one. “Tourist carriers, tour operators, riads and guest houses, hoteliers, restaurateurs… all have seen their activities suffer a massive, dazzling effect that has lasted for too long,” he said word for word.

According to Mr. Bentahar, it is the nationals who have animated the main tourist destinations, knowing that internal tourism only accounts for 30% of the sector’s turnover. This figure has also been cut by half, which is normally achieved thanks to various events (congresses, seminars, festivals, concerts, etc.), and with all the dynamics that are created around it.

« We were all optimistic at the start of the summer with the measures that were taken by the country’s authorities. Unfortunately, the new restrictions fell and dampened all our hopes, » he regretted. “Inter-city mobility, the A and B lists of emitting countries, quarantine obligations for non-residents, bans on activities in tourist establishments, festive events, the 9 p.m. curfew, … all these elements have slowed down the momentum which was just starting to take place,” he explained.

This does not take into account the informal sector which continued to gain significant market shares to the great dismay of aggrieved tourist operators.
Even the return of MREs (Moroccans residing abroad) did not save the tourist season, although they have relatively alleviated the weight of the crisis thanks to the exceptional system put in place to facilitate their return. “These are laudable, necessary measures, which allowed MREs to visit their country and see their families,” rejoiced the president of the CNT.

And to make matters worse, visibility over the few months that separate us from the end of the year is not very clear either, whether for professionals or their clients.

“Operators are currently only managing cancellations for the coming months. Customers have no visibility to be able to schedule events,” he said, calling at the same time for the implementation of the health pass so that vaccinated people can access restaurants and leisure places in the evening instead of maintaining the curfew.

Tutorship listens, but…

« On the side of the Ministry of Tourism, there is good listening. But what we expect are rapid and urgent actions, which are commensurate with the situation of distress which prevails throughout the tourism ecosystem », underlines Hamid Bentahar.

« We thank the supervisory authority for listening and for the efforts made since the beginning of the year, but at the same time, we call on it to accelerate decisions to save tourism stakeholders who are all responsible, united and mobilized to rebuild the economy and sustainable competitiveness of the country », he pleaded, insisting on the urgency of concretizing the provisions of the tourism support and recovery program contract which covers the period 2020-2022.

« We are aware of the fact that priority is always given to health and we welcome the actions taken in this direction by our country. But we call on the public authorities to also save jobs and businesses. We ask the supervisory ministry, the government and the CVE, to concretize the 2020-2022 program contract, which we signed with them, and which expired two months ago, » he noted.

When is the end of the tunnel?

For Hamid Bentahar, the crisis has defied all predictions and it would be difficult to predict how long the situation will last or how it will evolve. The most optimistic speak of a return to normal in two or three years, the most pessimistic expect five or six years!

« Today, all we can do is put forward scenarios, » he said. “But what we know with certainty is that activity will resume since the desire to travel is still present and is only waiting for the restrictions to be lifted. From there, it is the measures that we will adopt today which will shape the recovery, or not”, he said, explaining that only the countries which will put the package on the support measures will be able to do well, unlike those which will not act or which will not do so time.

And to conclude: « If today we do what is necessary to save jobs and businesses, the players in the sector will be there at the time of recovery to support the resumption of activity. Otherwise, without players, there will be no recovery or recovery possible. »

source: lematin.ma