The continuation of campaigns targeting shisha cafes, restaurants and nightclubs in Marrakech is harming these establishments as well as the local economy, declared the owners of these establishments who are calling for regulation of shisha activity in the city.
In a letter addressed to the wali of the region, the owners of shisha cafes, restaurants and nightclubs recalled the crucial role of these establishments in the socio-economic life of the ocher city, helping to strengthen its tax revenues and create more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs. The continuation of campaigns targeting these establishments generates significant financial losses for them which could lead them to bankruptcy, add the authors of the letter.
To read: Marrakech is on the hunt for shisha cafes
These repeated campaigns which aim to combat the consumption of Hookah in these establishments are detrimental to the local economy, observe the owners who invite the competent authorities to find viable solutions to this situation. This involves, for example, the establishment of a legal and regulatory framework to govern shisha activity in the city. These campaigns harm the owners of these establishments, most of whom derive most of their income from this activity.
-Read: The worrying proliferation of shisha cafes in Casablanca
The signatories of the letter also urged the authorities to strike a balance between the economic interest of the city and the need to comply with regulations, reaffirming their full availability to cooperate with the authorities. They hope that the wali will respond favorably to their request for a hearing, a session during which they intend to express their concerns orally and formulate concrete and “consensual proposals which serve the general interest”.
Morocco
