Rabat (AFP)

Immersed in a severe crisis, with no visibility on the date of reopening of the borders, tourism professionals from Morocco are counting on nationals to mitigate their losses linked to the pandemic, in a country still paralyzed by traffic restrictions.

Tourism activity suddenly stopped in mid-March with the suspension without notice of flights followed by the closure of the kingdom's borders, which last year attracted a record of 13 million visitors.

During the first four months of the year, the number of tourists decreased by 45% and the number of overnight stays by around 43% compared to the same period last year, specified at the beginning of the week the Minister of Tourism Nadia Fettah.

And the summer promises to be very complicated, the closing of borders straining the arrival of foreign visitors.

"I think it's dead for 2020," said David Azuelos, who runs seven guesthouses in Rabat and put all the workers out of work because he had "no more money in his pockets."

To save the summer season, the authorities launched a communication campaign "to let Moroccans know about the richness and diversity of their country", while promising "incentive offers" and "preferential prices", as underlined the minister.

- "Hard blow" -

In Marrakech, jewel of Moroccan tourism, "the professionals work on adapted offers, by proposing new thematic routes", declared to AFP Hamid Bentahar, regional responsible for tourism.

"It is not an alternative but a strategic choice: the Moroccan clientele represents 35 to 40% of tourism income in Marrakech," he continues.

The Moroccan Tourist Office (ONMT) also wants to "invite citizens to travel to their country as soon as the state of health emergency is lifted".

But, to the chagrin of tourism professionals, the state of health emergency that ran until June 10 has been extended by a month and the major cities of the country remain subject to strict confinement until further notice.

"We are finishing Tourism in Morocco well!", Headlined Thursday the weekly Maroc Hebdo on its site, for whom the decision "to confine the main destinations of tourists, both foreign and national, drags all hope" of recovery.

"It is a blow to the morale of the hoteliers who expected to welcome Moroccan customers for mid-June," said an operator, AFP, who asked not to be named.

- "Freedom" -

A key sector of the Moroccan economy, tourism represents around 10% of the kingdom's wealth. Along with exports and financial transfers from Moroccans living abroad, it is one of the main sources of foreign exchange for the country.

In recent years, the sector has benefited from the launch of dozens of new air routes. The downside: more and more Moroccans are traveling abroad, where they spent around two billion euros last year.

"They find more freedom there, can drink shots on the terrace and the offer is more attractive for families," said the operator interviewed by AFP.

Messages on social networks also describe as a brake the marriage certificate required for couples in hotels, in a country where "sex outside marriage" remains punishable by prison.

"Morocco is less and less attracting its own upper middle class," recently summarized the information site Médias 24.

The Costa del Sol in Spain, Istanbul and Paris are among the leading destinations for Moroccans. In addition to the quest for freedom, the offer is generally cheaper in the seaside resorts of southern neighboring Spain.

In 2018, for the first time, there were more Moroccan tourists in Spain (900,000) than Spaniards in Morocco. But for now, it is still impossible to cross the Strait of Gibraltar.

© 2020 AFP