Marruecos busca atraer de nuevo a los turistas españoles
The Moroccan government announced the reopening of its airspace as of February due to pressure from numerous experts and economic agents. The favourable evolution of the country's epidemiological situation has been key to the resumption of international flights.
The ONMT has mentioned the possibility of taking over the powers of Iberia. With this, it seeks to ensure the promotion of Morocco as a tourist destination in more than 100 European and South American locations promoted by the airline. This would mean an increase in connections to the cities of Casablanca, Marrakech and Tangier.
Iberia has experienced a 100% recovery of its capacity for the Madrid-Tangier route, and a 76% improvement for the Madrid-Marrakech route, with a total of nine frequencies or trips per week. The level of interconnection with destinations in America and other European countries is very beneficial for reaching pre-pandemic levels.
Adel El Fakir, director general of the National Tourism Office, considers the presence of Spanish partners to be essential to "trigger a long-awaited recovery on both sides of the Mediterranean". He adds that the government is focusing on securing the aviation capacities of the main airlines to initiate the rapid recovery of tourism in Morocco.
The authorities announced the closure of borders and airspace last November due to the increase in infections caused by the Omicron variant. Many commercial flights were cancelled leaving tourists without the opportunity to return home.
Some airlines, such as Air Arabia and Air Maroc, scheduled several special flights between Morocco and other European countries to repatriate all those who were stranded on Moroccan soil. Iberia, together with the Spanish Embassy, requested permission from the appropriate authorities to charter their planes from Casa Blanca to Madrid.
This situation has led to a loss of confidence on the part of international airlines and tourists in general. To regain it, the National Airports Office (ONDA) has put in place a special plan to welcome travellers entering and leaving Morocco in the best possible conditions, guaranteeing the appropriate sanitary measures.
Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost airline, assures that it will maintain all its air connections with the Maghreb country. For the new summer season (April-October 2022), it intends to achieve 50% more capacity than before the pandemic.
Following the reopening of borders, British Airways has decided to resume flights to Morocco. For the time being, it will only offer services between Heathrow and Marrakech. From March, flights from Gatwick airport to Morocco will be resumed.
The stoppage of tourism activities has affected many professionals and they have been forced to ask for state aid to help them recover. Rkia Alaoui, president of the Regional Tourism Council of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, says the sector's losses are estimated at billions of dirhams.
The main objective is to "save the sector from total ruin through strong support measures", says the president. To this end, the Ministry of Tourism has announced the adoption of an emergency plan based on three measures. The first of these is the extension of the payment of compensation received in the first quarter of 2022.
The second allows for the deferral of payments due to the Moroccan National Security Fund (CNSS). The last measure concerns the establishment of a moratorium on bank maturities for one year. Hoteliers and transport companies, as announced by the government, are the only beneficiaries of this moratorium on payments.
The National Tourism Confederation (CNT), days before the reopening, requested that tour operators and restaurateurs also benefit from this measure. Many businessmen consider the government's plan to be insufficient. Despite this, they are confident of an early recovery of their businesses