Morocco reopened its borders on Monday, lifting a two-month ban on passenger flights entering the kingdom due to the spread of Covid-19. It hopes to save a tourist season devastated by the health crisis.
The country banned international flights and ferry services in November amid the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Only people with special exemptions were allowed to enter, delivering a severe blow to the tourism industry.
The resumption of air links on 7 February – overshadowed by the tragic death of five-year-old Rayan who fell into a well in the north of the country and who will be buried on Monday – is accompanied by a number of restrictions.
Travellers arriving in Morocco are required to present a vaccination pass and a negative PCR test taken less than 48 hours before boarding the plane.
On arrival at airports, passengers will have to undergo rapid antigenic tests, and "random" PCR tests will also be carried out on groups of passengers, according to a government statement.
Tourists could be subjected to "an additional test at their hotel or residence 48 hours after entering the territory".
Passengers who test positive will have to self-isolate.
The government has not specified whether full vaccination status includes a third Covid jab.
But a member of the governmental committee in charge of pandemic-related recommendations told The New Arab that travellers who got the second shot more than four months before their scheduled flight would have to present proof of a booster shot.
Tourism boost
Last November’s decision to introduce the travel ban left many Moroccan and foreign residents stranded abroad, although a few flights from Turkey, Portugal, and the UAE brought some of them home.
The Moroccan tourist sector has been badly hit by the health crisis, with an unprecedented drop of 71 percent in tourist arrivals in 2021 compared to 2019.
Twenty million fewer travellers visited the kingdom, meaning a drop in foreign currency revenue of 80 million euros.
Keen to give tourism a boost, the government has planned a programme of partnerships with international tour operators and airlines.
An international advertising campaign to promote "destination Morocco" will start as soon as foreign tourists return.
The government has launched a 2-billion-dirham emergency plan (1.8 million euros) to preserve jobs and allow tourism companies to cope with the financial constraints due to loss of activity.
Industry professionals, however, consider the plan to be insufficient.
