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The National Association of Travel Agencies of Morocco (ANAVM) announced on Monday the holding of a sit-in for travel agencies on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. next to the headquarters of the Ministry of Tourism in Rabat. In a statement, the NGO recalled that “since the start of the pandemic linked to Covid-19, the travel agency sector has experienced a serious collapse, the owners of the agencies having suffered enormous material and moral losses resulting from the final cessation of their activities due to the closure of borders and the application of a series of measures ”.
“Despite this unprecedented situation, travel agency professionals have shown a patriotic spirit and a deep understanding of the priority given to the health of citizens, which has been the main reason for many decisions that have completely paralyzed travel agencies. travel, ”the statement continued. For the ANAVM, “following nearly two years of this stifling crisis, travel agencies feel abandoned to their fate, not benefiting from any support or measure to meet their expectations and their needs, whether the part of the authorities concerned or national companies which have not contributed, even partially, to mitigating the damage caused to this sector, with the exception of the support allocated by the special fund dedicated to the management of this pandemic ”.
Travel agencies believe they were “the first and most affected” by the health crisis and “the last to recover”. “In the worst scenarios that loom, this crisis will mark the tragic end of this profession. This is far from being an exaggeration or an excess of pessimism, because international transactions constitute the majority of the activity of travel agencies ”, they warn.
Professionals in the sector say that it would be “difficult” for them “to see a glimmer of hope as long as the border closures continue”. “This sit-in aims to make all national actors aware of the dramatic state of this sector employing thousands of people and supposed to contribute to the influence of the destination Morocco at the international level”, one explains.
Travel professionals also indicate having “drawn up a rescue plan addressed to the Minister of Tourism and bringing together a set of measures essential to the survival of travel agencies”.
