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To avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus, Morocco decided on Sunday to halt all international flights, implementing a nationwide lockdown. The decision fell as a bombshell on the tourism industry, a sector that relies heavily on foreigners sojourning in the Kingdom, especially in its most iconic tourist destination Marrakech.
A never-seen-before situation has marked the Red City hours following the preventive decision. The streets of its Medina, packed with tourists, vendors and street food carts, have surrendered to the impact of the pandemic.
Riads with no tourists
The impact of the globally-spreading pandemic has first been encountered among Riad owners in Marrakech. «The borders were closed and as a result bookings have almost all been canceled», Abdallah, who manages a Riad in the Medina, told Yabiladi on Monday.
«We have more cancellations than bookings nowadays, which is a first», he regretted. Abdellah explained that currently, the Riad in which he works is housing around five local tourists. «We all know that the situation is getting worse, especially for tourism workers, but we are helpless, we’d rather deal with a financial crisis than the virus itself», he argued.
Abdallah expects his employers to make his «colleagues stay home in the next days, especially if there is no one at the Riad».
The same thing goes for other Riads in the city. A manager of another Marrakech Riad said that «normally, it is the high season for the sector, but everyone has cancelled their stay».
«We only have three customers, a couple from France who were to leave on Thursday. They are still waiting and do not know what to do, although they would like to go home to join their families», he added. «There is also a German tourist who was also due to return on Friday but his flight was cancelled», he added
Meanwhile, Jihane, who works at another Riad in Marrakech, was told «to clean the equipment of the Riad’s spa and stay home until further notice».
«The manager also informed us that the same laws as in France will apply, that is to say that they will pay us our entire wages for this month of March and that we may be entitled to partial unemployment but they are not yet sure of this last point», she added. «We have been told they are waiting to see how the State will support them», Jihane explained.
Merchants and shops
The situation in Marrakech, which heavily relies on tourism activities, has had a domino effect on other entrepreneurs and merchants. Youssef who owns a wholesale shop in the Medina said that he is «expecting the worst».
«People currently are panic buying and we have noticed that there is a big demand on food supplies but this wouldn’t last for too long because of the economic situation», he explained.
«As for the riads that we supply, if they don’t have tourists staying at their hotels, they wouldn’t come to us to buy products», he regretted.
As for those who have already ordered supplies, Youssef expects them to not pay their bills for this month. «They are expected to pay me back for products they have already purchased but I think that that is not possible, given the current situation», he concluded.
Youssef, another store manager in Marrakech, said that «there are no customers that come to [his] shop anymore».
«Bookings for the spa were cancelled, and our parent company in France closed its doors», he said. «We will offer free home delivery so that people stay at home and as for sales most of the salesmen have had a 0 dirhams revenue for the couple of days», he worryingly declared to Yabiladi.
Currently in Morocco, 29 people have tested positive for the virus. To avoid contagion, the authorities have imposed several measures, including the closing of cafés, restaurants, clubs and even schools.
