Apps and websites are springing up everywhere to praise Morocco, its beauty, its resources and the quality of its welcome.
In the fierce war that the various tourist destinations will be waging, I don’t think this is all that important. We’re a long way from the real questions that potential tourists are asking themselves.
But we only sell well when we respond to our prospect’s real problems.
In other words, in the current situation, what does it matter if Morocco has beautiful beaches? Everyone knows that.
But it’s not the only one.
So, without chauvinism, without “MostBewtifulCountryInTheWorld“, what could we say about “destination Morocco” to attract tourists?
There will be no more border closures
At the forefront of tourists’ minds is the risk of once again finding themselves stranded for several months in a foreign country. This concern is all the more real given that the health situation is not really improving around the world, and that cases of infection are on the increase, particularly in Africa.
Given the links between France and Morocco, I’d wager that 80% of French people have either been stranded themselves, had a relative or acquaintance stranded, or at least know someone who knows someone who has.
It makes you smile a little, in “the man who saw the young nephew who saw the man who saw the bear” mode, but in reality, it’s a negative reputation that’s being built up.
This was confirmed on the ground with the announcement of the limited opening of the borders on 15 July. Before the government made it clear that it was not a question of opening the borders to tourism, and despite the clarification in the official press release, “will be able to leave by the same means at the end of their stay”, the question of the risk of closure, of not being able to enter, was everywhere in the forums and on Facebook.
In the event of partial lockdown, we will take care of you
The second risk is getting stuck in a confined area. Safi is also a tourist town. Tangier was almost totally confined (and I think that the cancellation of this total confinement was linked to complaints from tourist operators).
Spending a holiday in Morocco without being able to walk around freely – what a hassle!
It is therefore essential to propose solutions in advance, a ‘transfer guarantee’ to a more pleasant location (with the necessary tests, of course).
Reconfinement is a real risk, and all countries have to reconfine towns or districts, and Morocco is no exception. So the question is “what about tourists?“.
We have the pandemic under control
The best way to avoid the risk of reconfinement is for the pandemic to be sufficiently under control that there is no need to reconfine.
On this point, Morocco is sending out contradictory signals. Admittedly, the number of deaths has remained very low compared with other countries, and Morocco has received a great deal of praise from other countries and international organisations for its management of the crisis.
This is a strong positive signal, which has the added advantage of having been issued by third parties who are totally disinterested in supporting Moroccan tourism.
Global and brutal reconfiguration operations such as Safi or the Tangiers attempt send signals that can be interpreted in two ways:
- we are in control because we are taking the necessary measures immediately, even if they are difficult ;
- we’re not doing so well, because we need to recontain entire towns with large populations.
Health measures are adapted and applied
Unlike other countries, Morocco has never lifted the obligation to wear a mask, but it has failed to enforce it after the confinement was lifted. Moroccans with gills (those who wear the mask under their chin) are increasingly numerous, as are Moroccans who no longer wear it at all.
Sanitary measures in restaurants are little respected.
The whole world now recognises the importance of wearing a mask. Morocco must ensure that the measures it has taken are respected, and that the beaches are not covered with people. There needs to be an active police presence to ensure “strict respect for the preventive measures recommended to combat the Covid-19 pandemic“, and an active presence on social networking sites and forums to demonstrate this respect.
In other words, as well as being the ‘most beautiful’ country in the world, Morocco needs to be the ‘safest’.
Local tourists, we’re making a special effort for you
There is virtually nothing to promote inland tourism.
In theory, hotels should give a discount for residents staying more than two days in a row. Every time you ask for the discount, you are told that it is already included in the price. The price paid is indeed lower than the price displayed, but that’s the case for everyone. So in practice, Moroccans pay the same price as foreigners.
The “Kounouz Biladi” operation has never been a success. This promotion of tourism for Moroccans has suffered from many factors:
- offers tailored more to foreign tourists than to Moroccan tourists
- reduced prices that were not actually applied
- few professionals taking part, in just a few towns (Marrakesh, Agadir, Ouarzazate and Casablanca in 2010… what Moroccan tourist would want to spend their holidays in Casablanca?)
- an offer seen by professionals as a stop-gap when the influx of foreign tourists dries up.
This is exactly the case.
Moroccans do not have the same expectations as foreigners. They are not interested in rural tourism, the desert or anything south of Marrakesh (with the exception of Agadir). They are not backpackers, and they have requirements in terms of comfort that rule out many of the accommodations happily provided by foreign tourists in search of authenticity.
To sum up, they have no desire to drink tea at the locals’, as they drink it at home.
City and cultural tourism don’t interest them much either, as soon as they have a family with children. And the big tourist cities offer few activities for children, apart from a few large parks such as Oasiria, Crocopark in Agadir or Sindibad in Casablanca. Parks whose daily attendance would explode many budgets.
Domestic tourism will work this year, since Moroccans cannot go abroad as they used to, to Turkey or Spain.
But this will be a one-off event. Developing inland tourism means developing a different offer, and that can’t be done in two months.
The question is: will the professionals understand this and invest for the medium term? And above all, will they have the resources to make this investment?
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