Morocco’s tourism sector has been “gravely affected” by the coronavirus pandemic, said Minister of Tourism Nadia Fettah Alaoui during a session at the parliament.
Almost 430,000 tourists visited the kingdom by late March, she explained, a 78 percent drop compared to the same period in 2020.
Minister of Solidarity and Social Development Jamila El Moussali said tourism revenues did not exceed 5.3 billion dirhams ($530 million) in Q1 2021, a 69 percent drop from the same period last year.
Air traffic in all Moroccan airports was also affected, recording a 70.16 percent drop compared to 2020 and a 73.9 percent decline compared to 2019.
She expected a similar scenario until 2023, with full recovery anticipated the year after.
As for the national air carrier, Royal Air Maroc (RAM), Alaoui said most of its flights have been suspended.
Alaoui pointed to a stimulus package of up to 2,000 dirhams ($227) to tourism companies, tour guides, and restaurants registered in the National Social Security Fund (CNSS).
She stated that 5,518 companies submitted requests by late April to benefit from the program and pay the salaries of more than 79,000 employees.
The government had earlier approved a 2020/2022 program, which according to Alaoui, aims to preserve jobs and improve the tourism sector.
While the government is preparing to lift health restrictions, the minister said a program has been set to support small and medium tourism enterprises and to encourage domestic tourism.
The ministry is currently working on in-depth studies on foreign and domestic markets, as well as promotional campaigns, in preparation for the revival of the tourism season, Alaoui explained.
