ATfter having suffered greatly from the closing of the borders, Moroccan tourism will finally be able to start again. Since February 7, a set of measures has been taken to accompany the decision to open the borders to flights to or from the kingdom. These relate to the obligation to present a vaccination pass and the negative result of a PCR test less than 48 hours before boarding an aircraft for all travelers wishing to access the national territory as well as the realization rapid tests for passengers upon arrival at Moroccan airports. These measures also include carrying out PCR tests for groups of travelers at random upon arrival. The latter will be informed of the results later. In this regard, all the equipment and human, health, security and administrative resources necessary for the success of these operations will be put in place.
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It is also about the possibility of carrying out an additional test at the hotel or at the residence center for tourists, 48 hours after their entry into the national territory. With regard to positive cases, the government requires the obligation for normal positive cases to observe sanitary confinement in their places of residence, while subjecting them to careful monitoring and the transfer of difficult and critical positive cases to hospitals for receive the necessary care. Director General of the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT), Adel El Fakir spoke about the state of mind and the situation prevailing in this key sector of the Moroccan economy.
The Africa Point: We are coming out of a complicated period during which flights were not possible either departing from or arriving at the kingdom’s airports. What about today ?
Adel El Fakir: There are already flights from companies such as Air France, Royal Air Maroc, Transavia and Air Arabia. At the same time, new links are being put in place to restart and even strengthen all flows to Morocco. Thus Royal Air Maroc resumes all of its programming on its markets and in particular the French market.
The same applies to Transavia, with which we have excellent cooperation and partnership relations. We have just finalized our program for by the summer. We are going to + 40% capacity compared to 2019, the year before the Covid. This expresses the potential that Morocco will offer for the French market and for travelers from all over the world.
Have you undertaken specific initiatives for a better awakening of the Morocco destination?
When we talk to our partners and customers, the desire for Morocco has never been stronger than it is right now. We feel it in the reservations. Some companies have seen their reservations soar the three days following the announcement of the opening. There is a plan to accompany this opening and this is materialized by our presence in Paris these days for the promotion of Morocco by our partners to whom we exchange on all the practical information they may need to act. Next step: to ensure that, for the February holidays and beyond, Morocco is once again a privileged destination and at the heart of the choice of French travelers.
How do you plan to boost domestic tourism alongside tourism of foreign origin?
We must first pay tribute to the tourism professionals who have shown enormous resilience and strength, and also pay tribute to the Moroccan State, which has been at their side throughout the pandemic so that this cutting-edge industry , in which Morocco is Africa’s leading destination with 13 million visitors in 2019, remains active and ready for relaunch.
As for domestic tourism, you should know that it has been the first clientele of hotels in Morocco for three years. This is the first segment ahead of the French market. This clientele has grown stronger during the pandemic. Moroccans have, for some, rediscovered Moroccan destinations, and for others, discovered new destinations. This allowed the ecosystem to stay afloat and never shut down because the activity was there, admittedly not at the same level but supported by the state. The Moroccan has learned to travel more and to travel differently in his own country.
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What are you planning to allow professionals to get back on track?
There is a whole program that was designed by the state and deployed by the government to help them. What seems important to us is that they find their customers. To do this, we are currently working on the various markets so that travelers can find the air capacity and the right offers to resume a thread that has been temporarily interrupted by the pandemic. As I speak to you, tourism professionals are preparing their teams, strengthening the sanitary conditions of their establishments in order to receive customers in the best conditions, knowing that Morocco offers, in addition to its tourist assets, very strong health security. The monitoring of the pandemic has been extremely rigorous and sharp since the beginning and the vaccination campaigns are still in progress.
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What are the lessons learned from this complicated period to prevent the failings from starting again?
None of all the tourism players had specific recipes to counter this crisis. So we have learned to build our resilience and flexibility. There is a time that is over. Before, reservations were made a month in advance. Today, customers want flexibility, a much more authentic and stronger experience. This is why Moroccans will play a very important role. The client will thus be able to decide at his own pace. Before, everyone wanted guarantees and visibility. Today, we operate with constraints that are exogenous to us but that we continue to learn to manage.
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What are the goals for the end of the year?
It would be premature to talk about quantified objectives because the situation is changing. What matters today is to rebuild, first the air flow to Morocco, then to put Morocco back at the heart of the activities of our distributors and our customers to arrive at a fairly strong recovery curve. With this crisis, projections are less easy to make. So we are waiting to see the results and will work on it later.
What are your plans for customers in sub-Saharan Africa?
We have a strong and specific strategy for sub-Saharan Africa. A dedicated team is based in Dakar and a number of countries are among our priorities. Special groups have been set up in Marrakech and Fez, Dakar and other African capitals. It is a priority market for us. It offers us great potential for development through our friends in sub-Saharan Africa.
If there’s one phrase you want us to remember from Morocco in 2022, it would be…
Morocco has never been so ready to receive visitors. Morocco and Moroccans are waiting for you.
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