The Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts, Social and Solidarity Economy, the Moroccan Tourism Technology Development Company and the World Tourism Organization signed a partnership agreement on Friday in Marrakech to encourage investment and digitization in Morocco’s tourism sector.
This agreement, initialed by the Minister of Tourism, Crafts, Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatima Zahra Amour, is included along with the CEO of the Moroccan Tourism Engineering Company, Imad Berkad, and the Secretary General of World Tourism. Organization, Zurab Polulbakashvili, on the sidelines of the 117th session of the Executive Board of the Organization International Tourism, dedicated to “very small, small and medium-sized enterprises and skills … a lever of transformation in the field of tourism”, as part of the ongoing efforts undertaken by the Ministry and the Moroccan tourism company to increase the attractiveness of a Moroccan destination to encourage high value-added investment for the sector.
Amor said in a press statement on the sidelines of the signing ceremony that “this agreement deals with three areas, namely the promotion of investment in tourism, innovation and digitization, and finally the support of very small, small and medium-sized Moroccan tourism enterprises.” Ministry for Destination Competitiveness.
In this context, the Minister reported that very small, small and medium-sized enterprises make up 95 percent of the Moroccan economic fabric and are therefore of strategic importance, stressing that these enterprises “are the real engine of the sustainability of the sector and the subject of many initiatives launched by the Ministry and the Moroccan Tourism Company, especially in the field of digitization.
The same government official added: “Our country is fully engaged in accelerating the pace of digital transformation of very small, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises, and therefore we are very proud of our decision to launch the Marrakesh Call to Action, which will include all member states on digital transformation. these businesses, stimulating entrepreneurship, innovation and sector sustainability.”
For his part, Barkad said that this agreement aims to encourage comprehensive investment in tourism for very small, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises, as well as new enterprises that hope to innovate at the level of tourism products and services, recalling that many programs have been launched in the Kingdom to keep pace with these businesses throughout their digital transformation journey.
In this regard, the representative said that the Moroccan Tourism Engineering Company has developed a digital platform that allows very small, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises to network to develop an efficient system at the local level, and he explained: “We will launch expression requests interest for very small, small and medium-sized enterprises in this partnership.” receive funds that would enable it to ensure its sustainability and participate in the restoration of tourism in Morocco.
For his part, Zurab Polulbakashvili emphasized the importance of this agreement for encouraging investment in tourism and the digitization of Moroccan tourism, micro, small and medium enterprises, praising the choice of Morocco as a model country for the Digital Future program. which will accelerate the digitalization of these tourism enterprises and thus give a boost to the development of the sector.
Zurab mentioned that very small, micro and medium enterprises make up 80 percent of all tourism businesses, indicating that the World Tourism Organization is committed to providing the necessary skills and knowledge to take advantage of new and emerging technologies.
This thematic session marked the launch of the Moroccan Tourism Startup National Competition, led by the Moroccan Tourism Engineering Company and in partnership with the World Tourism Organization, to select the most innovative tourism startups that will create the most unique future. tourism experience in a context marked by the emergence of experiential tourism consumption patterns.
