Morocco and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) expressed, Thursday in Marrakech, their commitment to ensure the success of the 24th session of the General Assembly of the UN organization, scheduled for next October in Marrakech.
"All the forces of our country are mobilized to make the 24th session of the UNWTO General Assembly a great success", underlined the Minister of Tourism, Crafts, Air Transport and Social Economy, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, during a working session between the Secretary General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, the Wali of the Marrakech-Safi region, governor of the prefecture of Marrakech, Karim Kassi-Lahlou, and local partners.
"This working session is part of preparations for the 24th session of the UNWTO GA, which will take place for the first time in our country, in Marrakech," said the minister, while highlighting the importance of this meeting, which is taking place at a time when the tourism industry around the world "needs optimism after the exceptional crisis induced by the pandemic of the novel coronavirus".
Recalling that Marrakech has always been honored to organize several major events, in particular COP22, Fettah Alaoui noted that "under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, our country gives particular importance to tourism, which has a significant economic impact with a contribution of 17% to the national GDP".
For his part, Pololikashvili, who was leading a delegation of senior officials, underlined the commitment of the UN organization to supporting the Kingdom in all the preparations to ensure the success of this global event, which takes place after the imposed lockdowns around the world, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He stressed in this regard that the convening of the 24th session of the UNWTO General Assembly in Marrakech testifies to the leadership of the Kingdom, "which has all the assets to host this event in the best possible conditions".
Mr. Kassi-Lahlou, for his part, expressed the mobilization of all stakeholders, public and private, to make this global event a great success, which confirms Marrakech's position as a leading destination for the organization of large-scale events. While recalling that Marrakech hosted historical events, such as the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the COP22 and the Global Compact on Migration, the wali underlined the importance of this global event for the revival of the tourism sector, heavily affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
During this working session, the president of the Regional Tourism Council (CRT) of Marrakech, Hamid Bentahar, highlighted the various tourist and infrastructural assets of Marrakech, as well as the magic and the beauty of this destination. "The Ocher City is completely prepared in terms of health and has a solid and appropriate infrastructure to welcome its guests next October," assured Bentahar.
This meeting, which brought together representatives of the various government departments involved in the preparations for the 24th UNWTO General Assembly, as well as professionals from the tourism sector in Morocco, was also an opportunity to shed light on the situation of the sector in the Kingdom and in the world, in a context marked by the crisis linked to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Kingdom of Morocco was officially chosen as the host of the 24th Session of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in September 2019 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
