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Holidays: Morocco awaits tourists for unprecedented end-of-year celebrations

2020-12-09T10:21:41.474Z


Opening of hotels, cafes and restaurants, multiplication of air links ... Reassured by the slowdown in the Covid-19 epidemic and the prospect of a vaccine, Morocco is preparing to welcome tourists for end-of-year celebrations. year with a never-before-seen flavor.


An azure blue sky, palm trees against the backdrop of the Atlas or the ocean, restaurant terraces where you can bask in the sun, swimming pools to relax and large spaces to disconnect ... Even if the state of health emergency has been extended until January 10 and restrictions still weighing on some cities, Morocco is polishing its postcard decor to welcome tourists for the end-of-year celebrations, counting on last-minute bookings to confirm an already manifest interest .

If the borders remain theoretically closed, Morocco allows travelers to enter on condition of producing a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours (except children under 11) and a confirmed reservation of a classified hotel and tourist establishment, including riads.

Travelers must also bring a required health information sheet upon arrival.

Read also: Covid-19 and travel: where can the French go in December and at Christmas?

Our map, country by country

On return, adults and children over 11 years old are required to provide the results of a PCR test of less than 72 hours (under penalty of being refused board), a certificate of exceptional international travel and a declaration on the 'honor.

The tests are carried out by private laboratories which provide the results in 24 to 48 hours (allow 50 to 100 € for the test) and can travel to hotels in some cities.

Agadir, Essaouira and Marrakech, contrasting situations

The beaches of Agadir will not reopen until December 19.

Adobe Stock / Curioso.Photography

While the number of weekly contaminations has been falling steadily for three weeks according to John Hopkins University and Morocco is preparing to start a vaccination campaign, health pressure remains high.

General measures - wearing a mask under penalty of a fine of around € 30 (including by car from two people), physical distancing and strict protocols in public places - remain in force everywhere but some cities such as Casablanca or Agadir are subject to more restrictive measures in addition: curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., markets close at 3 p.m., restaurants and cafes at 8 p.m.

In Agadir in particular, the extension of the closure of the beaches for two weeks was announced on December 5, leading to a cascade of cancellations in hotels welcoming surfers.

While 65% of the park is operational, professionals expect the restrictions to be lifted from December 19 if the health situation improves, and the city is preparing for the end of year celebrations.

In Marrakech as in Essaouira, the constraints are lighter.

Nightclubs and casinos in the Red City keep the door closed, but cafes and restaurants can stay open until 11 p.m.

Golf courses are accessible as are spas (except hammams for the most part).

Life therefore resumes its almost normal course.

Most of the restaurants have reopened in the new city of Marrakech, particularly in the Hivernage district, a stronghold of nightlife.

Just like the cultural places, Majorelle garden, Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech museum (mYSLm) and art galleries.

We even see new addresses, boutiques and designer cafes blooming.

Transport between cities, subject to authorization, is also facilitated as long as you go through your hotel's concierge or the tour desk.

“For a tourist, it's business as usual but with the luxury of feeling in low season.

"

Grégoire Aubron, associate director of the Jardin des Douars

The medinas, on the other hand, far from their usual effervescence, still play the sleeping beauties, as in Marrakech, where riads, shops and cafes reopen sparingly.

But if certain flagship monuments, Saadian tombs, La Bahia palaces or Ben Youssef medersa are missing, other gems are taking over, such as the Secret Garden, the House of Photography or the Dar El Bacha Museum of Confluences.

The opportunity to enjoy less frequented places in peace.

In Essaouira, where the alleys have taken on their colors, just like the ocean, the Mecca of kite-surfing,

“for a tourist, it's business as usual but with the luxury of feeling in low season”

notes Grégoire Aubron, associate director of the Jardin des Douars.

Read also: 48 hours in Marrakech, bohemian getaway in the red city

Hotels in the starting blocks

On the hotel side, the first wave of reopening is confirmed: some 70 establishments in Essaouira and more than a hundred in Marrakech are preparing to accommodate travelers, with attractive packages, including in the surrounding area.

In the Agafay desert, 30 minutes from the ocher city, a dozen camps promise total disconnection and return to the great outdoors.

In the wake of La Mamounia, which is fully booked for the week of December 27, hoteliers are seeing

"a real enthusiasm for the destination"

summarizes Fabrice Castellorizios, General manager of Radisson Blue.

And those who have not yet completed their schedules are counting on last minute bookings thanks to the increase in flights.

Read also: La Mamounia in Marrakech, the expert opinion of

Le Figaro

The Beldi Country Club spa in Marrakech will welcome tourists at Christmas.

Beldi Country Club

More frequent air connections

Royal Air Maroc, which has just launched insurance dedicated to Covid-19, will significantly intensify its program from December 15 as part of a relaunch in partnership with the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT), in particular on connections to Marrakech from Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux and Agadir from Lyon.

The company is also preparing to open a direct flight from Paris / Dakhla.

Air France is significantly increasing its offer in view of the dynamism of demand, with more than thirty weekly flights in December from Paris CDG to Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech.

For its part, Transavia is gaining momentum with no less than 16 routes operated to Morocco between December 14 and January 4, from Paris-Orly, Nantes, Lyon and Montpellier (new, with a flight to Marrakech).

The Air France-KLM subsidiary is also taking the opportunity to relaunch flights to Fez, Tangier, Ouarzazate, the southern gate and its Paris-Orly / Essaouira link.

Ryanair, Air Arabia and TUIfly also serve Morocco from France.

There remains an unknown: the unfolding of the festivities for the New Years Eve of December 24 and especially the evening of December 31.

Tourism professionals hope to obtain a derogation to extend the hours beyond 11 p.m. and provide musical entertainment.

Answer during the month to know if we can end the year with a bang.

At Inara camp in the Agafay desert, music or not, 2020 will be burnt in a large campfire under the stars, Burning Man style, to begin 2021 under the sign of renewal!

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-12-09

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