Morocco’s tough COVID-19 restrictions hammer tourism sector

Morocco’s tough COVID-19 restrictions hammer tourism sector

RABAT: Businesses working in Morocco’s key tourism sector say the country’s tough COVID-19 restrictions, including a full flight ban, are undermining its competitiveness compared to rival destinations. Morocco shut its borders in late November and will only reopen them at the end of January. It has also banned new year celebrations and is enforcing its vaccine pass requirements more strictly in response to the omicron variant of the coronavirus. “These restrictions are unjustified and they have made Morocco lose tourists to Mediterranean competitors such as Egypt and Turkey,” said Lahcen Zelmat, head of Morocco’s hotel federation. Tourism generated $8 billion, or 7 percent of Morocco’s economy, in 2019, but the Central Bank expects it to have made only $3.6 billion this year. Hotels in Marrakech, the main tourist hub, have only 14 percent occupancy at what is normally peak season, Zelmat said. “We fear that by the time borders reopen we will find it hard to sell Morocco due to the sudden border closures,” said Emmanuelle Barat, a tour operator. “I have received no customers for the last 10 days,” said Taher Onsi, a restaurant owner in Marrakech, adding that domestic tourism could not offset the fall in foreign visitors.