The Moroccan National Tourism Office (MNTO) has marked the restart of international tourism and the removal of pre-travel testing requirements for the fully vaccinated with an industry event in London.
International travellers can now enter Morocco by either presenting a vaccine certificate or a 72 hours negative PCR test if they are unvaccinated. Children under the age of 12 are exempt.
A new tourism promotion campaign under the tagline ‘Kingdom of light’ is now running in 20 key source markets.
The UK launch involved the takeover of 48 out-of-home screens; 50 large format digital screens across the London Underground network; ten branded London taxis; as well as national TV, press and internet advertising.
The promotional activity highlights the three key pillars for tourism in Morocco – unspoilt natural environment; culture and discovery; beaches, sports and leisure.
Morocco drew 13 million overseas arrivals – including 600,000 from the UK – in pre-pandemic 2019.
The number of flight connections the summer are due to exceed 2019 levels.
Six airlines are now serving five destinations in the north African nation from the UK and Ireland – Air Arabia, British Airways, EasyJet, Royal Air Maroc, Ryanair and Tui.
MNTO chief executive Adel El Fakir said: “We are delighted to reconnect with travel industry partners in the UK as Morocco prepares for a rapid revival in 2022. The tourism industry is critical to our economy, which before the pandemic, represented 7% of GDP.
“With the restart, since early February, of international tourism in Morocco and the ease of entry conditions from the 17th of May, we are looking forward to welcoming visitors once again to explore everything our spectacular country has to offer.
“The UK is the second largest international market for Moroccan tourism and we’re grateful for the continued support from tour operators and airlines as we grow the sector post-pandemic.”
