Morocco is a beautiful country surrounded by the incredible Atlas Mountains that are a must-visit for anyone touring the state. They provide beautiful scenery of marvelous landscapes. Mountain Biking, skiing, accrobranche, and rafting are some of the nature lovers’ outdoor activities in Morocco.
How Covid Has Impacted Foreign Mountain Tourism
Before the emergence of the novel virus, everything was fine. Morocco would harness a lot of income from tourist revenue. People worldwide were visiting its snow-capped mountains, admiring the wintry scenery, and exploring outdoor activities. Nevertheless, when the country started reporting cases of coronavirus, life took a different turn. No more activities were running. All recreation sites were closed.
During the first wave, normalcy was no more. Lockdowns and restrictions were the in thing. People were staying indoors for fear of contracting the virus. To date, one year down the line, and Morocco is still to recover. Since the closure of the borders, tourists are no longer attracted to Morocco’s snow-capped mountains.
Moulay Abdellah, a fifty-five-year-old owning a lodge, complains that the pandemic has cost him 70% of his clients. He hopes to see the situation improve more so as they depend on tourism for their livelihoods.
“We hope to be able to see foreign tourism in the country as soon as possible because that’s what saves the situation because it’s tourism that runs all year round and every day. And then we, as guides, as lodge owners, receive tourists like those every day. Other than that, local tourism is an excellent thing. It has saved our work, but it is not sufficient,” said Moulay Abdellah.
Local Tourism Saves the Day
Meanwhile, as foreign tourism has toppled over the past month, local tourism seemed to have saved the day. When activities in the country started to resume, it is the locals who went for tours at the mountain, promoting the guides, lodge owners, and the state’s tourism sector at large.
Youssef Mouhyl, director of the “Maison de la cedraie,” states that their region has been more or less saved by local tourism. Being in an ecotourism business, they thank God there is traffic, and people visit the area. Youssef believes that their region is still running because it is in high demand, and many are coming to tour it.
The current State of Covid in Morocco
On February 18th, 2020, Morocco has confirmed 479,579 cases,8517 deaths, and 461466 recoveries. Unfortunately, the infections continue to grow daily as the virus is highly contagious. Nevertheless, the country has started its immunization campaign after receiving its first shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India.
The country has mobilized its doctors, nurses, pharmacists, civil servants, and civilians at large to embrace the immunization procedures. By creating awareness, the level of ignorance has been reduced as many cannot wait to get vaccinated. Moreover, the country also expects other doses from China. After enacting stringent measures, governments have now turned to vaccination, hoping that it would help curb the virus and narrow down the curve.
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