The tourism sector in Agadir recorded a loss of USD1.2 billion in the past two years, amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the sector.
Tourism professionals believe the sector is recording more drops, due to the decline of the activity by 80% of tourist units, travel agencies, and tourist transport companies.
Rachid Dahmas, head of the regional tourism center in Agadir, confirmed to Hespress that major tourist areas have been greatly affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dahmas said the losses recorded by the tourism sector in the Agadir region in the past two years are estimated at more than USD1.2 billion in the form of wasted incomes.
The head of the regional center for tourism in Agadir added that “the current school holiday did not contribute to the rebound of domestic tourism in Agadir, as a result of the spike of the COVID-19 pandemic on the purchasing power of Moroccan families with medium incomes, who were also affected by expenses related to school entry and summer vacation.
The same spokesperson stated that “Marrakech recorded some demand in the tourism sector, but still didn’t reach the same level as the pre-pandemic period.”
“The tourism sector is currently suffering from the absence of foreign tourists, in addition to the lack of local tourists with the appropriate purchasing power, which means getting out of the crisis requires many efforts to recover gains as well as saving the workforce,” Dahmas added.
The domestic tourism crisis is coursed by high prices