Marruecos podría eliminar la obligatoriedad de una prueba PCR para acceder al país en todos los puntos de entrada

Morocco's border policy to contain COVID-19 has been very strict in the last two years of the pandemic, even after reopening airspace on 7 February. All passengers travelling to the Kingdom have had to present a vaccination card and a negative PCR test carried out less than 48 hours before departure. 

However, this health protocol could change in the near future, as have already done the conditions for entry by sea, according to a communiqué published by the Moroccan Ministry of Transport and Logistics. Since the Kingdom reopened its maritime borders, following the joint Spanish Moroccan communiqué of 7 February, the Kingdom has taken a measure described as temporary, whereby new arrivals by sea must have a valid vaccination pass or a PCR test of less than 72 hours, and not both. 

However, these measures are also taken on the grounds that "the epidemiological situation in Morocco and in most partner countries justifies such a relaxation that will encourage tourism".

In addition, the institutions have also considered that "conditions of entry cannot vary from one point to another", suggesting that this relaxation in the sea lane is likely to be applied to all points of entry, including airports, in the development of a new national protocol on COVID-19 measures, a decision already taken by many countries.

For their part, tourism professionals see this possibility of lowering the strict conditions for entry as an opportunity to encourage and recover the tourism rates of the pre-pandemic months.

"Without this obligation, we could reach a hotel occupancy rate of 80%, but given the current context, our sector should reach a maximum of 40% by the end of the next Easter holidays," a Marrakech hotelier told Media 24.

This elimination of PCR tests to enter the country could boost the influx of tourism, which could finally define the recovery of this sector after the stoppage caused by the closure of borders, which led the country to spend several months without being able to feed the tourism and hospitality sector. 

Nevertheless, the Moroccan government has taken several measures to revive tourism with a national emergency plan of some one billion dirhams to compensate tourism professionals for the loss of money caused by the months of inactivity. This is in addition to the extension of tax exemptions for hoteliers and the granting of several state subsidies for the tourism sector.