Rabat – At least 3,202 tourist guides affected by the COVID-19-induced economic crisis have benefited from financial aid, Morocco’s Tourism Minister Nadia Fettah El Alaoui hsa said.
The financial assistance is part of the country’s Special Fund for Management and Response to COVID-19.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI introduced the fund in March 2020 to mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.
The minister made the statement today in Rabat at the House of Councillors, where she appeared to answer MPs’ questions regarding the tourism sector.
El Alaoui said that the tourist employees have been benefiting from the aid since July 2020.
Moroccan tourist guides will continue to benefit from the aid until June 2021, she added.
The tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit sectors by COVID-19 crisis, and a large part of the industry’s woes stemmed from Morocco’s measures to curb the spread of the pandemic.
In March 202, Morocco shut down borders as part of its state of emergency measures.
The country also introduced a tightened lockdown, prohibiting movement.
Only people with special permits and with a valid emergency reason had the right to go out.
Morocco eased the restrictions in June 2020, allowing businesses to re-open.
The country also reopened borders through a special program for Moroccans living abroad (MREs), stranded residents and tourists, as well as business operators.
The Moroccan government then gradually re-opened borders to allow tourists to enter the country.
With the spread of new COVID-19 strains, Morocco decided to restrict movement between cities as part of the preventive measures.
The increase in the number of the British variant led the government to suspend flights with several countries.
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Suspensions of flights and other pandemic-related restrictions have greatly impacted the tourism sector.
The Directorate of Studies and Financial Projections announced in February that Morocco’s tourism revenue declined by 53.8% in 2020 after an increase of 7.8% in 2019.
The data represents a loss of MAD 42.4 billion or $4.77 billion.
Morocco’s tourism minister acknowledged that the sector continues to suffer from the crisis, saying that the employees in the field were considerably affected by COVID-19.
She emphasized the importance of the tourist guide profession, vowing that her ministry is working to develop and enhance it to serve also Moroccan tourists.
In addition to tourist guides, the government also vowed that the fund will also benefit people in the sector of restaurants, hotels, the press, and other industries.
