Some officials and MPs usually travel to Europe or other countries to spend their summer holidays.
Rabat – Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani is urging all members of the government to spend their holiday inside Morocco to promote domestic tourism.
The domestic tourism campaign will continue until the end of 2020, even if the borders of our country are opened, El Othmani emphasized on Thursday during the weekly government council.
Saaid Amzazi, the spokesperson of the government, said El Othmani is also calling on Moroccan citizens to invest in domestic tourism and explore their country to “revitalize the tourism sector.”
Tourism, one of the pillars in Morocco’s economy, was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tourism accounts for 11 % of Morocco’s GDP.
In May, Morocco’s Minister of Tourism Nadia Fettah Alaoui acknowledged the impacts of the pandemic on the sector.
The official said 87 % of hotels in Morocco shut down due to the crisis. The state of emergency also caused a 63 % decline in hotel stance since March.
Out of 3,989 tourist accommodation establishments, 3,465 closed due to the pandemic.
Since the easing of lockdown in June, however, a number of hotels have reopened to welcome holiday-makers for the summer.
The Head of Government said public departments and institutions should organize official meetings, training sessions, and other programed activities within the national tourism institutions to contribute positively to the national economy.
Amzazi recalled that economic activities of all kinds, including commercial or industrial activities resumed with the ease of lockdown measures to revive the country’s economy.
To mitigate the economic crisis, the government also decided to modify the 2020 Finance Law.
The amended bill seeks to assist the mechanisms necessary to boost the resumption of Morocco’s economy and preserve employment.