In terms of tourism, Morocco is planning again. In the context of the sector recovery after several months of stagnation, the ambitions are clearly displayed. Mrs. Fatima-Zahra Ammor, the Minister of Tourism, announced last week her ambition to double the number of tourist arrivals by 2030. The minister presented her vision during a working session held with travel industry professionals from the National Confederation of Tourism (CNT).
It should be remembered that national tourism in Morocco has been hit hard by the health crisis. Before Covid-19, in terms of arrivals, a clear evolution of overnight stays and foreign exchange earnings were registered. Specifically, from 9.37 million in 2012, arrivals recorded a continuous increase to reach 12.93 million in 2019 in the same way as overnight stays which went from 17.56 million to 25.24 during the aforementioned period. Enough to positively impact foreign exchange earnings which had reached 78.7 billion dirhams in 2019 against 57.8 billion dirhams in 2012.
Today, the prospects for tourism recovery are positive. They would be better with the expected lifting of the requirement of the PCR test less than 48 hours before boarding a plane. The ECO Inspirations also evokes the problems of the operators of the National Confederation of Tourism. There is especially the lack of qualified staff due to the loss of attractiveness of the sector in terms of human resources, which will be problematic in view of the increase in demand that the sector will soon experience.
"An action plan is planned to reposition employability and promote the retention of the right profiles." But will it be put in place in time to respond to future flows? In the meantime, professionals have been made aware of the importance of developing leisure and entertainment offers, in order to attract more tourists, especially the domestic ones. These offers will complement the promotional efforts made by the ONMT and foster, in the short term, growth in new markets.