Tourism receipts amounted to 9.7 billion dirhams (MMDH) at the end of March 2022, up 80% compared to the same period of the past year, indicated on Monday the Minister of Tourism, ‘Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatim-Zahra Ammor.
This development confirms a recovery in the sector, noted Fatim-Zahra Ammor, who was responding to an oral question in the House of Representatives on “the measures taken in favor of the tourism sector”, presented by the istiqlalien group of unity and egalitarianism, adding that exports of handicrafts posted a 25% increase during the same period.
Regarding the social and solidarity economy, the ministry is working to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework and the creation of regional hubs, she said.
Fatim-Zahra Ammor also highlighted the various measures taken to revive the tourism sector, in particular the launch of an emergency plan of 2 billion dirhams, the payment of the fixed compensation of 2,000 dirhams, before Aid Al Fitr, for all employees in the sector, tourist carriers and classified restaurants and the postponement of the repayment of bank credit maturities for tourist companies.
Similarly, the ministry has received 781 requests for the renovation of hotel establishments, which will be processed in the coming days, she said, also recalling the deployment of a major advertising and marketing campaign to relaunch the sector, with the objective of doubling the number of arrivals by 2030.
As for the crafts sector, she affirmed that the ministry is carrying out structuring work, through the strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework relating to craft activities and medical coverage, and the establishment of the platform for the national register of crafts which organizes 172 professions, noting, in this sense, that 96,000 professionals are registered there.
In response to another question relating to tourism investment, Fatim-Zahra Ammor indicated that her department has reoriented the interventions of the Moroccan Society of Tourism Engineering (SMIT) towards tourism investments that better meet the requirements of tourists, in exploiting a study carried out by the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) on the expectations of Moroccan and foreign tourists.
Among the important programs aimed at encouraging investment, the Minister cited incentive subsidies for the creation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector and financial support from the State, with an overall budget of 1 MMDH, for the renovation of tourist accommodation establishments.
On another aspect, the new investment charter, the main lines of which were presented to HM King Mohammed VI, will allow a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery, said Fatim-Zahra Ammor, noting that the Mohammed VI Fund for ‘Investment will provide the necessary support to finance and accompany the investment.
And to note that the occupancy rate of classified hotel establishments was only 50% before the crisis linked to Covid-19, noting that in order to increase this rate, the ministry has set up communication campaigns in partnership with airlines and international travel agencies.
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