Tourism sector workers protest border closures in Morocco

Thousands of workers in Morocco's vital tourism sector hold protests in several cities across the North African country to call for the reopening of the borders.

CASABLANCA – Thousands of workers in Morocco's vital tourism sector held protests in several cities across the North African country on Wednesday to call for the reopening of the borders that have been closed for two months to stem the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Scores of travel industry workers marched in the ochre city of Marrakech to call for the lifting of restrictions in a bid to save the tourism sector that has been dealt a heavy blow by the repeated border closures.

Dozens of travel industry workers held a protest in front of the tourism ministry in Rabat.

Morocco suspended all passenger flights and closed its sea borders from November 29 until at least January 31, further plunging the travel industry into the abyss.

Hundreds of businesses are threatened with bankruptcy while several hotels, restaurants and car rental agencies were forced to close down because of the impact of the pandemic.

The Democratic Labour Organisation (ODT) on Sunday called on the government to open the borders and lift travel restrictions because there was no longer any objective scientific justification for extending the border closures in light of the current epidemiological changes.

“the suffocating crisis experienced by the actors and employees working in the tourism sector in our country …was due to the continued restrictions of the Health State of Emergency that included the closure of the air, land and sea borders, and the consequent recession and bankruptcy of a number of businesses and job losses,” said a statement by the Executive Office of the ODT, which is close to the Authenticity and Modernity Party.

The union said that the Omicron variant, which is prevalent at the global level, “is currently present in Morocco, and there is no longer an objective scientific justification for extending the closure of the borders in light of the current epidemiological changes, as stated by members of the National Scientific and Technical Committee.”

On January 18, Morocco’s tourism ministry announced that it will provide 2 billion dirhams ($220 million) in aid to help tourism businesses and workers cope with COVID-19 restrictions.

The emergency aid package includes 1 billion dirhams to help hotels renovate and stay afloat after a 22-month-long crisis, and a 2,000 dirham monthly payment in the first quarter of this year to affected workers, the ministry said in a statement.

But many protesters said they are "excluded" from the emergency aid package.

Tourism generated $8 billion, or 7% of Morocco's GDP, in 2019, when the country received 13 million tourists. But the central bank expects it to have made only $3.6 billion last year. 

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told parliament on Monday that it was "important to reopen the airways just as it is important to follow the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic."

Morocco's health ministry said the peak of Omicron infections was reached in the week ending January 23 but concerns over a possible resurgence remain high.