Organised by the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT), the National Tourism Federation (FNT), and the Regional Tourism Council (CRT) of Agadir, the 2nd Professional Days gave participants the opportunity to conduct a collective reflection on the state of national tourism, in light of the crisis that has been hitting its activity for two years now and penalising its results. To host such a large event, it was necessary to fall back on the Framissima hotel, which offered its congress hall, equipped in terms of space, infrastructure, and working conditions.



The opening session was jointly chaired by Hamid Addou, director of the ONMT, Ali Ghannam, president of the FNT, Abderrahim Oummani, president of the Agadir CRT, Ousmane Ndiyae, director of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for Africa, and Tariq Kabbage, mayor of the city. A whole day was thus devoted to examining the sector, scrutinised in its various aspects, its potential, its weaknesses, and its prospects in the more or less long term. The participants did not lose hope of meeting the challenge, particularly regarding the promotion of the national product and the competition that is strengthening abroad.

The morning was devoted to a deep exchange, in a plenary session, focused on the problems of tourism in 2012 and new challenges. The question was posed in these terms: what are the notable developments in the market, following the recent events of the geopolitical context? The majority of the speakers are not unaware of the consequences of the economic and social crisis and its repercussions on the Moroccan market. However, they took care not to exaggerate its impact, stressing that Moroccan tourism activity, even if it did not experience the usual increase between 2010 and 2011, did not fall either. They nevertheless foresee a tough 2012, sufficiently in decline to justify the implementation of a policy and response mechanisms.

All the speakers highlighted the need to defend "responsible tourism", respectful of the environment and human values and in accordance with the sustainable development advocated for a few years now. Between January and April 2011, activity experienced an increase, not significant, but which allowed it to resist the following months, i.e., 4 to 5%. Compared to the same period, the year 2012 remains marked by the consequences of the crisis, the dwindling of European demand, and the formidable competition that the Canary Islands pose, with a figure that makes one dream: 12 million tourists.

In Agadir in particular, the decline over the same period was nearly 17%. The second Professional Tourism Days were marked by a shared desire to implement a more aggressive and targeted marketing strategy. It aims to consolidate traditional markets, notably France, Italy, Great Britain, and Germany. It also strengthens the conquest of the Russian, Polish, Czech, and Slovak markets, characterised by the arrival of 8 weekly charters from these countries to Agadir. Responding to questions about the lack of financial means of the ONMT to carry out a national and international promotion policy, Abderrahim Oummani, president of the Agadir CRT, mentions a revealing figure: 500,000 families live directly or indirectly from tourism activity in Morocco. That is an average of more than 2.5 million people. He stresses that out of the 60 billion dirhams generated each year by the sector, we should take the equivalent of 1.5% of the revenue to reach the sum of 900 million dirhams, which constitutes the real needs of the ONMT, which, today, only benefits from the traditional 550 million dirhams, a budget that will barely be maintained in the next Budget examined in the House of Representatives.

It was proposed to organise regular Workshops, Eductours, and a massive and consistent participation in professional trade fairs organised around the world. These events are in line with the spirit of strengthening the promotion of the sector, necessarily accompanied by targeted and even relentless communication. The ONMT, the FNT, the CRTs, professionals, travel agencies, hoteliers, professional associations, and the press were called upon to work hand in hand by the president of the FNT, who does not hesitate to speak of a "patriotic fight"!