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MOROCCAN TRAVEL AGENCIES PROTEST AGAINST BORDER CLOSURE

MOROCCAN TRAVEL AGENCIES PROTEST AGAINST BORDER CLOSURE

In Morocco, about 200 travel agents demonstrated on Tuesday 04th January 2022 in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Tourism in Rabat, demanding the reopening of borders and talks with the authorities, after the country abruptly shut its borders and bank loan payments delayed, on november 29, over the Omicron variant of Covid.


Rajaa Ould Hamada, owner of a travel agency in Marrakech said
« All travel agents are here to demand the Ministry (of Tourism) and all the entities concerned to hear us and to acknowledge our suffering, with the taxes for instance. We did not get any support, whether material or moral. »

She added that the border closure had favored other countries :
« The recent border closure has delivered a fatal blow (to the sector), which benefited other countries such as Egypt, Turkey, the Emirates and others, as all our scheduled reservations were cancelled in favor of these destinations. »

Mountassir Dahani, owner of a travel agency in Temara also added that :
« We demand the Ministry (of Tourism) and the government to support travel agencies so that they do not go bankrupt, especially if the borders remain closed. »
Morocco suspended all passenger flights from 29th November until 31st January as a result of rising infections of the Omicron variant worldwide.
Rabat recently promised about $216 monthly allowance to tourism workers for the final quarter of 2021.