L’Economiste- Sunergia investigation : More than half of Moroccans are not traveling this summer
Summer is the season for vacations, travel, and lounging. With family or friends, it is the high tourist season. Despite the democratization of vacations in Morocco, many inequalities persist. Not everyone is on the same footing. “ Without making any value judgments about people’s vacations, the same word ‘vacation’ is used to describe practices that sometimes have nothing to do with each other, apart from being away from work ”, points out Larbi Jaaidi, in a study on the vacation economy by the Policy Center for the New South.
This year, for example, a large proportion of Moroccans will not be traveling during their holidays And the reason is essentially financial. “ Of those who don’t go on vacation, only a minority stay by choice, or do so for family reasons, or because their health won’t allow it. The most important explanation is that people can’t afford to travel ”, says the same study. This trend seems to be confirmed by data from the latest L’Economiste Sunergia survey. 64% of Moroccans have no plans to travel this summer. Of all those questioned in the survey, only 8% said they had travelled, and 21% intend to do so this season.
In detail, the answers seem almost identical for men and women, although the former are more likely to say they won’t be traveling this summer. In terms of age groups, young people in particular were the most likely to express their desire to travel. This is the case for 30% of 18-24 year-olds (8% have already travelled), 21% of 35-44 year-olds (5% have already travelled) and 19% of 35-44 year-olds (14% have already travelled). Conversely, the highest rates of people who have not planned a vacation trip are among 55-64 year-olds (78%), seniors over 65 (73%) and 35-44 year-olds (73%).
In terms of territories, people in the North-East and Central regions expressed a greater willingness to travel than those in the South (74% of the latter said they had no plans to travel this summer). The disparities between the urban and rural worlds seem more marked. The data show that 10% of city dwellers have already travelled this summer, and 27% intend to do so, while 82% of rural populations have no plans to travel during the summer season.
The results per socio-professional category reveal the financial difficulties that seem to be limiting the travel dynamics this year. Among socio-professional categories A and B, 13% have already traveled and 22% plan to do so. Among the middle class, 8% have already taken a vacation getaway, while 28% plan to do so before the end of the summer. For socio-professional categories D and E, 84% have not scheduled any trips for this season. Especially as “ going on vacation is expensive, especially when you have dependent children to look after .”
Domestic tourism
Moroccan tourists generally spend more on accommodation, transport, catering, and entertainment than foreign tourists who use platforms or tour operators. P Both the industry and the line ministry are aware that domestic tourism has enormous potential that is still largely untapped, and deserves a real strategy with incentives and levers to boost it. Currently, domestic tourism accounts for 30% of overnight stays in classified tourist hotels. Worldwide, UN Tourism estimates the number of domestic tourism trips at 9 billion. “ Domestic tourism volumes are more than 6 times higher than those of international tourism”, according to this organization. For the time being, however, the high cost of tourism and the fact that it is not adapted to the needs of Moroccan households seem to be holding back this sector’s dynamism, hence the importance of activating new levers for growth. In a recent report, the Court of Auditors called for the accelerated introduction of vacation vouchers, which represent one of the main measures for boosting demand.
M.A.M.
