El ritmo de viajeros en los aeropuertos marroquíes continúa creciendo

The good news keeps on coming for Morocco. The Alawi country continues to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and some affected sectors, such as tourism, are already beginning to notice the improvement. Since the opening of borders in the first quarter of 2022, air transport continues to increase and to record good levels, reviving an industry that was badly wounded by COVID-19. According to data published by the National Airports Office (ONDA), from February to May, the Kingdom's airports have continued to grow and have obtained very positive data for the national economy. The latest reports confirm that levels are already close to 2019 levels.

ONDA highlights that the movement rates stood at 73% of passengers registered in Moroccan centres, being more than 5,398,030 passengers received and who have circulated through the country's territory. In addition, the figure for airports was 83%, with more than 50,881 airport movements in all airports in the Kingdom. 

The Office breaks down the data obtained during these months. The entity points out that the largest flow of tourists has been recorded at the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca with 2,005,511 passengers arriving in Morocco through 19,458 flights. This confirms that the city of Casablanca is achieving a recovery rate of 70-75%.

In addition to Mohammed V airport, other airport complexes are registering recovery rates greater than or equal to 100%, such as Tangier, Oujda and Nador, which have registered a movement rate of 103%, 123% and 99% respectively. Other airports, such as Fez, Marrakech and Agadir are still in a slow recovery phase, with figures of 83%, 63% and 69% respectively.

However, between the period of the resumption of flights and the end of May, domestic traffic also showed an increase. Between these months, the airports recorded a recovery rate of 67%, with around 602,341 passengers received. As for the international rate, it has also increased by 74% compared to the data for the same period in 2019. In total, the international passenger rate recorded 4,795,689 passengers.

There is no doubt that these good figures are due to a very good effort by the government to restore the tourism sector and its importance in the national economy. The government's main focus has been on the industry, and they are working hard to ensure that it develops and returns to more normal levels.

To this end, the Moroccan government has been working to develop a series of strategies to encourage international tourism to the Kingdom, and another to encourage domestic tourism to other regions. Among them is the country's latest campaign, "Morocco, land of light".

This initiative aims to highlight Morocco as one of the best tourist destinations in the world. This could strengthen the country's reputation and the interest it generates around the world. It is worth noting that the government has issued many aid packages for those people who normally work in the tourism sector and have been the main ones affected by the border closures and restrictions. 

Thanks to this massive influx of tourists, Morocco has already consolidated the recovery of tourism activity. With the relaxation of the measures, the Kingdom has experienced very significant growth during the first quarter of this year, with the number of tourists increasing by more than 216%. "The number of foreign visitors reached about 1.5 million people between January and April 2022. This is a year-on-year growth of 123% during the first four months of 2022," said Fatima Zahra Ammor, Moroccan Minister of Tourism.

Morocco has lost a lot of the money it brings to this sector due to border closures and the expansion of Omicron. In a normal year, Morocco could have received more than thirteen million people. This has a serious impact on national GDP, as tourism in the Kingdom accounts for 10% of all national activity. Recall that, in 2021, this activity accounted for 7% and was a major blow to the Kingdom's economy.