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Morocco’s Tourism Revenues Drop 69% in Q1 2021

Moroccan tourism sector lost 78% of the number of tourists and 69% of its quarterly revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)
Moroccan tourism sector lost 78% of the number of tourists and 69% of its quarterly revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)
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Morocco’s Tourism Revenues Drop 69% in Q1 2021

Moroccan tourism sector lost 78% of the number of tourists and 69% of its quarterly revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)
Moroccan tourism sector lost 78% of the number of tourists and 69% of its quarterly revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Reuters)

Morocco’s tourism sector has been “gravely affected” by the coronavirus pandemic, said Minister of Tourism Nadia Fettah Alaoui during a session at the parliament.

Almost 430,000 tourists visited the kingdom by late March, she explained, a 78 percent drop compared to the same period in 2020.

Minister of Solidarity and Social Development Jamila El Moussali said tourism revenues did not exceed 5.3 billion dirhams ($530 million) in Q1 2021, a 69 percent drop from the same period last year.

Air traffic in all Moroccan airports was also affected, recording a 70.16 percent drop compared to 2020 and a 73.9 percent decline compared to 2019.

She expected a similar scenario until 2023, with full recovery anticipated the year after.

As for the national air carrier, Royal Air Maroc (RAM), Alaoui said most of its flights have been suspended.

Alaoui pointed to a stimulus package of up to 2,000 dirhams ($227) to tourism companies, tour guides, and restaurants registered in the National Social Security Fund (CNSS).

She stated that 5,518 companies submitted requests by late April to benefit from the program and pay the salaries of more than 79,000 employees.

The government had earlier approved a 2020/2022 program, which according to Alaoui, aims to preserve jobs and improve the tourism sector.

While the government is preparing to lift health restrictions, the minister said a program has been set to support small and medium tourism enterprises and to encourage domestic tourism.

The ministry is currently working on in-depth studies on foreign and domestic markets, as well as promotional campaigns, in preparation for the revival of the tourism season, Alaoui explained.

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US Applications for Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Lowest Level in Nearly a Year

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
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US Applications for Jobless Claims Fall to 201,000, Lowest Level in Nearly a Year

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

US applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in nearly a year last week, pointing to a still healthy labor market with historically low layoffs.

The Labor Department on Wednesday said that applications for jobless benefits fell to 201,000 for the week ending January 4, down from the previous week's 211,000. This week's figure is the lowest since February of last year.

The four-week average of claims, which evens out the week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 10,250 to 213,000.

The overall numbers receiving unemployment benefits for the week of December 28 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 33,000 from the previous week, according to The AP.

The US job market has cooled from the red-hot stretch of 2021-2023 when the economy was rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns.

Through November, employers added an average of 180,000 jobs a month in 2024, down from 251,000 in 2023, 377,000 in 2022 and a record 604,000 in 2021. Still, even the diminished job creation is solid and a sign of resilience in the face of high interest rates.

When the Labor Department releases hiring numbers for December on Friday, they’re expected to show that employers added 160,000 jobs last month.

On Tuesday, the government reported that US job openings rose unexpectedly in November, showing companies are still looking for workers even as the labor market has loosened. Openings rose to 8.1 million in November, the most since February and up from 7.8 million in October,

The weekly jobless claims numbers are a proxy for layoffs, and those have remained below pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate is at a modest 4.2%, though that is up from a half century low 3.4% reached in 2023.

To fight inflation that hit four-decade highs two and a half years ago, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023. Inflation came down — from 9.1% in mid-2022 to 2.7% in November, allowing the Fed to start cutting rates. But progress on inflation has stalled in recent months, and year-over-year consumer price increases are stuck above the Fed’s 2% target.

In December, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate for the third time in 2024, but the central bank’s policymakers signaled that they’re likely to be more cautious about future rate cuts. They projected just two in 2025, down from the four they had envisioned in September.