Rabat - Moroccan Minister of Tourism Lahcen Haddad announced the creation of a watch cell to monitor the development of the French tourism market.
In a statement to Agency of Maghreb Arab Press (PAM), Haddad dismissed claims that 50 percent of French reservations in Morocco were cancelled recently. He emphasized that some tour operators recorded a drop of 15 percent in reservations.
The Minister said that thanks to the efforts made by Moroccan diplomats and the monitoring unit, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs no longer called for French tourists to use enhanced vigilance in Morocco.
In addition to these actions, Haddad added that the Department of Tourism is starting a multi-week media campaign to improve perceptions of Morocco’s security and stability among the French public.
Following the beheading of French citizen Herve Gourdel in Algeria last month, French authorities urged tourists travelling to Morocco to exercise caution and vigilance in certain parts of the country. This measure caused the Moroccan tourism sector to lose between 50 and 60% of reservations in one week due to cancellations from the French market.