MOROCCO – The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have pledged to support the recovery of Morocco’s tourism.
The pledge by the two intergovernmental organizations is a major boost for Morocco’s tourism sector which had been hardest hit by the COVID19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, Morocco had secured a US$48 million loan from the World Bank to cushion the country’s economy from the adverse effects of COVID19.
The World Bank, at the time of approving the loan, expressed its satisfaction with Morocco’s “effective approach” to curbing the spread of the pandemic.
In a joint statement, UNWTO and EBRD said, “Under these particular circumstances, the EBRD and UNWTO have agreed to take immediate joint action for a sustainable recovery of tourism.”
The joint statement explained that the support will be in line with the three main pillars of the UNWTO’s Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package, offering guidance to the member states in response to COVID-19.
The pillars include economic recovery, marketing and promotion, as well as institutional strengthening and resilience building.
To stimulate the economic recovery, the UNWTO suggests introducing policies and measures and developing impact needs assessments and country-specific plans for the recovery of the tourism sector.
In terms of marketing and promotion, UNWTO committed to providing technical assistance to identify markets that can help accelerate recovery, address product diversification, and (re)formulate strategies for marketing, including promotional activities.
The third pillar seeks to enhance public-private partnerships and promote collaboration in the process of tourism recovery.
The EBRD is pledging all of its efforts in 2020 and 2021 to helping its member states absorb the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a $21 billion investment targeting all sectors of the economy.
Other countries that are set to be beneficiaries of the joint UNTWO, EBRD initiative include, Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.
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