King chairs meeting on tourism reactivation
Morocco, Economics, 8/8/2001

Morocco's King Mohammed VI chaired on Tuesday at the royal palace in Tetuan a meeting devoted to the reactivation of the sector of tourism.

The meeting probed the progress made in implementing decisions made at the convention on tourism that was held in Marrakesh last January, under the effective chairmanship of the sovereign.

The meeting also scrutinized the restructuring under way of the Moroccan national tourism office (ONMT), the schedule set to complete ongoing reforms, and new means to be put at the office disposal, mainly in matters of promotion in outstanding tourism markets.

Promoting the hotel sector, various leisure activities and tourism-related trades and services in the region of Marrakresh-Tensift-El Haouz, was also discussed in light of the strong growth recorded these past months and in the perspective of a better control of existing or expected investments.

Out of the same concern to optimize the sector, the meeting assessed the studies being conducted to set up six new seaside resorts on the Mediterranean and Atlantic shores (Saidia, Khmis Essahel, Al Haouziya, Mogador, Taghazout and Tifnit).

The sovereign instructed participants to identify a new site on the Mediterranean coast between Tangiers and Tetuan, as this region is suffering from a weak hotel capacity.

After hearing presentations by minister of economy, finance, privatization and tourism, Fathallah Oualalou, and by ONMT general manager, Ms Fathia Bennis, the sovereign issued instructions to speed up the implementation of the global program set during the Marrakesh tourism convention and the enforcement of the reforms that are likely to enhance the ONMT action.

King Mohammed VI also underlined the importance of problems related to vocational training in the hotel industry and insisted that the development of Moroccan tourism infrastructures should be operated in coherence and synergy with the training of skilled personnel.

Besides Oualalou and Ms Bennis, the meeting was attended by minister of the interior, Ahmed El Midaoui, the advisors to the sovereign, Andre Azoulay and Mohamed Kabbaj, head of the king's office, Mohamed Rochdi Chraibi, and charge de mission at the royal office, Fadel Benyaich.

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