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Rabat – Overnight hotel stays in the city of Fez recorded an increase of 68% at the end of November 2021, according to Morocco’s National Tourism Observatory (ONT).
The observatory stressed that the city recorded 394,908 overnight hotel stays from January to November 2021, compared to 234,510 in the same period of 2020.
Hotel occupancy rates were also higher, reaching 150,085 at the end of November 2021, against 119,545 during the same period of the previous year, showing an increase of 26%.
Like in 2020, the average length of stay between January and November of last year was two days, ONT highlighted.
The observatory explained the positive indicators are due to an increase in the number of tourists visiting Fez, particularly from France, the USA, Arab and African countries, as well as Moroccans residing abroad.
The number of operational rooms during the 11 months of last year was 2,759 units, of which 544 were in five-star hotels, 872 in four-star hotels, and 737 in three-star hotels.
Tourism in Morocco has suffered colossal losses following border closures and other strict measures since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, King Mohammed VI introduced the Mohammed VI Fund as part of proactive measures to support sectors that were highly impacted by the pandemic, including tourism.
But as the sector still struggles even in the post-lockdown era, Fatima Zahra Ammor, Morocco’s Tourism Minister, pledged in December 2021 to launch a comprehensive plan to support tourism and related sectors.
Morocco’s decision to extend the travel ban until the end of this month has been a huge blow for Moroccan tourism professionals, many of whom were hoping to resume their work after months of frozen activities.
Many business owners from southeastern Morocco have launched an online campaign urging the government to reopen the borders as soon as possible. But as the COVID-19 and Omicron variant cases continue to increase, it remains to be seen whether Morocco will once again extend its travel ban.
