Internal tourism is proving to be a lever for post-Covid recovery. At least that is what the Department of Studies and Financial Forecasts (DEPF) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance asserts.
“Despite the uncertainties and the restrictive sanitary measures differentiated at the territorial level, internal tourism played a role of shock absorber during the crisis”, indicates the Directorate of Studies and Financial Forecasts (DEPF), under the Ministry of the Economy and finance in a Policy brief entitled “Potential of domestic tourism as a lever for post-Covid recovery”. According to the data collected by the DEPF, internal tourism plays a saving role but remains “dependent on travel restrictions and the differentiated specialization of tourist territories”, reports La Vie Éco.
To support its argument, the DEPF puts forward some statistics. Arrivals of internal tourists in classified tourist accommodation establishments (EHTC) contracted by 59.5% in 2020, compared to – 80.7% for inbound tourism, rising to 1.4 million tourists, explains the management. , evoking the maintenance of minimum tourist activity with a share of the domestic tourism market of 57% of total arrivals, an increase of 18 points compared to 2019.
As for overnight stays by Moroccan residents, they fell by 55.4% in 2020 compared to – 72.4% for inbound tourism, dropping to 3.5 million overnight stays. The average per tourist is maintained at 2.4 nights against 3.2 for non-residents. These figures thus confirm the role of domestic tourism in maintaining the productive tourist system in times of crisis, “with the consolidation of its market share to 50% of total overnight stays against 31% in 2019”.
