El turismo en Marruecos se reinicia y las reservas se disparan
The opening of borders in Morocco has once again brought good news to the Kingdom. Since the Moroccan authorities decided on 30 November to close the borders to prevent the rapid spread of the new variant of the coronavirus, Omicron, the tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit by the decision. Above all, the restriction coincided with the Christmas holiday season, when many choose to spend the festive season in Morocco and many others return to their families. But now that all areas of travel to the Kingdom have been opened, tourism has slowly begun to recover.
The news of the reopening of borders has gone hand in hand with a boom in flight and hotel bookings in Morocco. Moreover, France and its citizens are once again the main source of tourists to the Kingdom. According to Nicolas Henin, deputy general commercial director of Transavia, a Dutch low-cost airline owned by Air France, "since the announcement, we have counted between 4,000 and 5,000 bookings. In January, there were only 400-500".
"The announcement of the reopening of the borders had an immediate effect on bookings to Morocco: they exploded," the director added in an interview with the daily Le Figaro. Moreover, the fact that France is once again the leading power in reactivating the market is very good news. Right now, France accounts for more than 30% of air traffic. Data from 2019 confirm the trend and in that year more than 4.2 million people residing in the nation visited the Kingdom. The figure is significant, as 31% of the market share of tourists were French.
Meanwhile, in view of the boom in bookings, one of the concerns that has arisen among tourists is the evolution of prices. The fact that the Alawi country is one of the top travel destinations is worrying travellers who may see the price of their bookings rise. Nicholas Henin says that for the time being, until May, prices will remain stable, although those interested in travelling may not be able to find discounted prices on last-minute bookings.
"For the next two weeks, prices are a little high, but beyond that, they become reasonable. Between the school holidays and until this summer, we are back to the usual price level," Henin added in the interview.
Destinations, on the other hand, are also repeating the usual trend. Marrakech remains the favourite place for tourists when choosing a location in Morocco, followed by Agadir. This is followed by cities such as Casablanca and Essaouira. Knowing this, Henin says that, after the February holidays, Transavia will operate two daily flights to Marrakech, and in the summer there will be four.
Travellers transiting through the Kingdom will need to be aware of a number of measures to be taken into account when entering the country. To avoid any spread of the coronavirus among Moroccans, anyone travelling to the Alawi country will need to carry a vaccination certificate, confirming whether they are fully vaccinated or have passed the virus. If not, passengers will have to present a negative result of a PCR test carried out 48 hours before taking the plane, although children under 6 years of age will not be required to have any test.
Travellers will also be required to present a health form to enter the Kingdom, which includes details of each person travelling, as well as the place where they will be staying and a telephone number to contact them in case of any inconvenience.
The health authorities recommend that visitors follow the measures recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Moroccan government. These include avoiding crowds, respecting the safety distance, washing hands, masks and avoiding any kind of physical contact between people.
