Tourism: The recovery is confirmed
The recovery of the tourism sector is confirmed. This is what emerges from the speech of FatimZahra Ammor, minister in charge, in front of the M.P.s. Questioned during the weekly question time, the minister insisted on the importance of the efforts made for several months to reposition Morocco as a destination on the world tourist scene.
Today, a series of actions are carried out to “promote the tourist assets that are available in different regions of Morocco”. For the minister, this “would allow all territories to take advantage of this recovery, and not only known destinations”.
■ Overnight stays:
In the field, several regions have benefited from the revival of tourist activities. In terms of overnight stays in tourist accommodation establishments, the number has tripled at the level of traditional destinations such as Marrakech and Agadir. At the same time, the number of overnight stays has also doubled in other cities such as Errachidia and Dakhla, which have been attracting more and more tourists in recent months. Ditto for Tangiers, Rabat, and Casablanca. The overnight recovery rate is 100% for destinations such as Laâyoune -Sakia El Hamra. The rate stands at 86% in Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, 76% in Beni Mellal-Khenifra and the Oriental region of Morocco, and 66% in Tangiers-Tetouan-Al Hoceima. This momentum has had repercussions on the volume of tourism receipts at the national level. According to preliminary figures presented by Ammor, tourism receipts in foreign currency reached 20 billion MAD in respect of first 5 months of the year. This represents an increase of 173% compared to last year, marked in particular by the restrictions linked to the management of the pandemic. Compared to 2019, the reference year, revenues show a recovery rate of 71%.
■ Air connections:
During this period, the number of arrivals is also on the rise. It has been multiplied by 4.5 compared to 2021, i.e. 2.3 million tourists. This represents a recovery rate of 52% compared to 2019. The aircraft load factor reached 75% at the end of May, according to the minister. This is due in particular to “the efforts of the Moroccan National Tourism Board, ONMT, with the airlines, which have made it possible to currently have a capacity greater than the one recorded in 2019”, it is indicated.
■ Upgrading:
The strong resumption of tourist activities is also based on the upgrading of facilities and accommodation establishments. A support program in this direction has been set up by the line ministry. The goal is to provide support for hotels in terms of maintenance, upgrading, and training. Fatim-Zahra Ammor announced the granting of financial support to 737 tourist accommodation establishments. “The requests covered all regions”, she said. To date, the amounts of subsidies granted have varied, depending on the need, ranging from 2,500 Dirhams to 7 million Dirhams.
M.A.M.
