Moroccan airline to open-up Marrakech for foreign tourists

hMoroccan airline RAM said it will launch four new routes linking Marrakech to European cities in a bid to help the company and the city recover from the coronavirus impact.

RAM chief Abdelhamid Addou said the decision was taken following a meeting with tourism minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui and head of the national tourism promotion office.

He said Marrakech will be linked to Paris, Milan, Brussels and Madrid and later London whenever restrictive measures are lifted

Morocco had eased access of foreigners to help tourism operators. Access of foreigners to the country is conditioned by a hotel reservation, but the number of flights remains limited.

Morocco has allowed special flights to help Moroccans abroad to return to the country after a three-month long lockdown that was eased in June.

Tourism represents 7% of Morocco’s gross domestic product, generates $7.8 billion in hard currency receipts and employs directly 550,000 people with 13 million international arrivals in 2019, making the country one of Africa’s busiest destinations.

Like other airlines across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the Moroccan airline’s plans for regional expansion pushing it to axe routes, layoff staff, and adopt painful austerity measures.