With that latest Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic the Moroccan economy, which relies a great deal on tourism has been affected very negatively. The tourism sector alone accounts for 11% of the contributions to the GDP (gross domestic product) of Morocco. The Coronavirus pandemic is certainly impacting the whole economy of Morocco on a deep level by hitting the tourism sector. But not only the tourism in Morocco that has been impacted by this pandemic. Many economists and politicians state that the whole world is affected negatively by Coronavirus; many of them say that the entire world is going to be different after this Coronavirus problem is over, for better or for worse. However, the situation might get less serious if the spread of the virus gets under control as we hope it will soon.
In this article, we will explore the impact of Coronavirus on the world economy and especially Moroccan economy and its the tourism sector. Keep reading to learn more.

The impact of Coronavirus on the world Economy

The social distancing measures, that all of the countries, which got infected by the spread of the Coronavirus have taken, have impacted the economy of the entire world very negatively. Some sectors have been subject to damage more than the others. But overall, the whole economy is suffering from the spread of the virus. The slowdown of manufacturing in China alone has impacted the world economy so drastically. As we know China is the number one country that manufactures products, which means that all the countries that get their products manufactured in China have suffered great economic problems during this period. And Morocco is no stranger to this economic downward spiral in its own manner, especially when it comes to agriculture and tourism, which are the two major industries of the country.
However, not all the economy is impacted negatively, for example, the food industry, cleaning product, pharmaceutic industry, and the communication services have benefited from this pandemic, as many people are stockpiling food and cleaning products, along with relying a lot on the internet providers for socializing.
Here’s more about the impact of Coronavirus on the economy of Morocco and the world:

The impact of Coronavirus on the Car industry

 The car industry is one of the most damaged economic sectors. The Coronavirus outbreak has slowed down the manufacturing and also the demand for cars and on car products. As we all know, the quarantine has stopped all unnecessary activities, which means that people don’t use cars as they used to before the outbreak. That impacted the car market radically. Many people who were supposed to buy cars during this period didn’t and traveling on a car is only reserved for serious situations. Morocco is also a country that relies a lot upon the production of cars and car parts; 16% of the Moroccan GDP comes from the car industry, which is a big chunk of contribution to the economy of Morocco. Due to the recent pandemic, Morocco has lost a lot of its foreign currency sources of income; other sources being agriculture and phosphate exports, which have also been damaged slightly. However, one upside to this tragic equation is that the environment could benefit a lot from the less pollution that this outbreak caused.

Car industry morocco

The losses that Coronavirus caused to the airline business

Due to the ban on air travel, some airline companies are risking bankruptcy. Air travel business is expected to suffer a loss that is estimated by $ 29 billion globally according to the International Air Transportation Association (IATA). Some Airline companies have already started to reduce the numbers of their personnel because they can’t pay them. Since there’s no international travel, tourism suffers a lot from this outbreak.
Moroccan Royal Airlines (Royal Air Maroc) is also one of the most damaged companies from the pandemic. Royal Air Maroc was one of the busiest companies in the tourism business along with bringing compatriot fellow Moroccan citizens back to their country for vacation, now all of that has stopped and the government has to do something about it if they want Royal Air Maroc not to be compromised.

Moroccan Royal Airlines; the Moroccan national carrier

How is Coronavirus is affecting world tourism?

The countries that rely a lot upon tourism to satisfy their economical demands are impacted by the Coronavirus more than they can handle. International tourism is expected to drop by 20%-30% in the world, which is estimated by $300-$450 billion! This huge number, according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is unprecedented. To give you a comparison, tourism only dropped 9% during the last economic recession of 2009, and that had a very negative impact on the economy.

How did Coronavirus impact Tourism in Morocco?

In Morocco, the tourism sector in March alone has lost 100,000 visitors and the hotels in Marrakech have faced 10,000 cancellations due to the social distancing measures and the suspension of airline travel.
In 2019 Morocco has received an impressive number of tourists, which was estimated by 13 million visitors. That number is going to drop by 39% according to the predictions of the CFG bank and the number of hotel stays is going to drop by 30%. These scary numbers could impact the tourism sector very radically, and thus, the economy of Morocco; as we have already mentioned Morocco relies on tourism to back up the GDP by 11% and also to provide the country with foreign currency.
Many people will lose their jobs as a consequence and many businesses could go bankrupt. These problems that Coronavirus has caused to the tourism industry of Morocco are expected to last for as long as the quarantine is still on. If a remedy hasn’t been found soon the tourism in Morocco is expected to lose several hundred thousand visitors in the future months and over 1 million overnight stays in the hotels and this is a great loss to the economy of Morocco.

Morocco tourism; Hassan tower

Predictions of the future of tourism in Morocco after the Coronavirus pandemic

It’s hard to have a solid opinion about the subject of tourism so soon. We have to wait first until the situation with the spread of the virus gets slowed down and contained. Although the economy is impacted dramatically, we can’t risk opening up to tourists very soon and expose ourselves to the virus again. We can predict that the local tourism might enjoy an uprise soon after the pandemic gets under control because people will be very excited to get out of quarantine and enjoy their time as soon as possible. Many people will organize tours to visit their favorite spots once the social distancing is over and travel is allowed; this is something that can be naturally predicted, given that the lockdown has not been expected, and people are waiting for it to get over as soon as possible.
One way that coronavirus can affect the local tourism industry is by making people not able to afford travel. As we all know, many citizens have lost their jobs or their businesses have been impacted negatively after the government declared the social distancing measures.
However, for international travel, the case is a little bit more complicated. Tourists might have to go through strict tests before they travel if such a thing is even allowed in the future months. But that is not going to be a big of a problem in the case of Morocco. The government and the citizens are working together very harmoniously in stopping the spread of the virus, which means that the situation will be under control very soon. That can tell us that travel to Morocco and the tourism industry will probably return to business, or at least, that’s what we hope will happen soon.

Many experts predict different outcomes of this COVID-19 pandemic. Some are very negative others are somewhat positive. However, we can all expect to see a different world after this is over. All we can do is hope for the best, and for now, keep ourselves at our homes until the situation gets better. Eventually, tourism and all the other industries that got hit hard by the pandemic will recover one way or another including the economy of Morocco, and we will all have, once again, the opportunity to visit our favorite spots in Morocco, knowing that we will be safe.