The Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatima-Zahra Ammor, defends her emergency plan of 2 billion DH for tourism. She detailed the mechanics of the plan in a recent media release.
“Given the health crisis, and in light of its repercussions on the tourism sector, the government, in consultation with professionals and all stakeholders, has put in place this emergency plan which aims to safeguard the jobs in the sector, to support businesses in the face of financial constraints and prepare them for the recovery phase of tourist activity,” said Fatima-Zahra Ammor during a recent press briefing.
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It must be remembered that even if the plan was generally well received by tourist operators, the fact remains that the latter believe that the urgency today concerns the opening of air borders. “The emergency plan is a commendable effort, but the real battle is at the level of the opening of the borders in order to put the sector, its actors and its employees back to work”, observed Hamid Bentahar, president of the National Confederation. tourism (CNT), during a recent media release.
Same story on the side of its predecessor. “The opening of borders is urgent and must be announced as soon as possible to reassure tour operators and airlines. Without an established program, these partners will turn away from the destination,” said Abdellatif Kabbaj, former president of the CNT.
Fatima-Zahra in particular explained during her media release that this plan revolves around five concrete measures, namely the extension of the payment of the lump sum indemnity of 2000 DH during the first quarter of 2022 for all employees in the tourism, tourist carriers and classified restaurants and the deferral of charges due to the CNSS for 6 months for these same employees.
According to Fatim-Zahra Ammor, these measures also result in a moratorium on bank maturities for a period of up to 1 year, for hoteliers and tourist carriers, whose interim interest will be borne by the State for a period equivalent to the months of non-activity in 2021, as well as the first quarter of 2022.
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Similarly, it will be a question for the State of exempting hoteliers and taking charge of the business tax due in 2020 and 2021, and of granting a subsidy to the hotel sector, for a total amount of 1 billion of DH in order to support hotels in the resumption of their activities in the best conditions.
We learn that this support is intended for all hoteliers wishing to resume their activities immediately after the reopening of the borders, noted the Minister. Fatim-Zahra Ammor also explained that this contribution will be paid in two tranches through the Moroccan Society of Tourism Engineering. Thus, the first will be paid upon acceptance of the file and the other installment after the completion of the project.