Finance News Hebdo: Your election as vice-president of the CNT coincides with a pivotal period for the sector, marked by bold ambitions and strategic challenges. On the eve of CAN 2025 and the 2030 World Cup, how does the CNT plan to contribute to strengthening the sector?
Othmane Ibn Ghazala: The CNT’s strategy is structured around 3 axes: co-construction, competitiveness and sustainability. This strategy is materialized through several actions. Initially, the Confederation is mobilizing to strengthen the governance of the travel and hospitality industry as well as the private sector representative bodies in order to support our institutional partners, such as the ministry and the Office of tourism, in the deployment of their roadmap and action plans. Furthermore, we are working to improve the competitiveness of the sector by supporting hotel investment, the renovation of the existing stock and by increasing the number of air connections which make it possible to increase the number of tourist arrivals and, thus, improve the occupancy rate. hotels. We also support support systems for SMEs such as Go Siyaha, which aims to increase the skills of all tourism stakeholders, on the one hand, and to improve the offer of tourist activities, on the other hand. Then, and this is our priority, we direct the majority of our efforts towards improving training. The CNT runs, in partnership with the Moroccan Association of Tourism Experts and Scientists (AMEST), the Circle of Tourism Trainers and Experts. The latter is intended to be a platform for exchanges between professionals and those responsible for training. Its aim is to promote tourism professions, to raise the level of training establishments through programs co-branded with the best international players (Cornell University, the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, etc.) and to adapt the training programs to meet the needs of the sector. We also support continuing training and the enhancement of the experience of workers in the sector through the Kafaa program for validating prior experience. Finally, our actions around innovation and sustainable development crystallize all of the aforementioned projects, through the animation of the Travel Tech Morocco community, but also partnerships with NGOs and international development agencies which aim objective of improving the sustainability of the sector.
FNH: The objective of 26 million tourists by 2030 now seems achievable thanks to the organization of the World Cup. However, efforts remain to be made to guarantee a tourist offer that meets the requirements of this major event. What, in your opinion, are the main areas on which Morocco must focus to meet the specific needs of visitors?
O. I. Gh. : The 3 main areas that will allow us to improve the tourist experience for visitors are:
• Training to improve the quality of service;
• The digitalization of tourist services to facilitate their use and access to information (hotels, monuments, mobility, catering, etc.);
• The structuring and development of tourism in public spaces, and this mainly concerns urban planning, the definition of pedestrian zones, the structuring of spaces intended for different uses, particularly at the level of beaches and hiking trails.
These elements will improve the experience of international travelers, but also of domestic travelers to support and develop domestic tourism.
FNH: What lasting legacies can the tourism industry hope to gain from organizing these events? How can we capitalize on the international visibility acquired to maintain a constant flow of visitors after these competitions?
O. I. Gh. : The World Cup will give Morocco unprecedented visibility which allows us to foresee a significant increase in the intention to visit the Kingdom both by those who will have discovered the destination without being able to attend the World Cup, and by those who will attended and who wish to return to it in another setting. Morocco already enjoys an increasingly positive perception around the world. Associating the destination with the values of sport can only improve this perception further. But to do this, we absolutely must offer a flawless fan experience. Like Qatar in 2022, it is essential to guarantee fluid and efficient management of human flows, access to stadiums and digital fan zones, and accelerated check-ins at airports and hotels, in particular thanks to technology. This will allow visitors to focus on celebrating their teams in a safe, festive atmosphere. If this fan experience is successful, we will be able to maintain a constant flow of visitors, with a clear improvement in the performance of three key indicators in the travel industry. These are the average length of stay, the average basket per tourist and the return rate.
FNH: Synergy between the public and private sector is fundamental to the development of any sector. In your opinion, what are the main contributions of public-private partnerships in the development and competitiveness of the tourism industry in Morocco?
O. I. Gh. : The synergy between the public and private sector makes it possible to better structure and better control the sector by fighting against the informal sector and improving the quality of tourist services. This synergy also makes it possible to identify the highest priority actions for the sector and to jointly develop the most relevant investment projects or support programs that are most aligned with the real needs of the industry. Furthermore, this synergy makes it possible to increase the success rate of programs developed by the tourism department for professionals such as Cap Hospitality and Go Siyaha. It facilitates the dissemination of information, awareness-raising and the training of professionals. These actions are carried out through regional associations and national federations of the hotel industry, travel agencies, tourist transporters, tourist restaurateurs and guides, which the CNT brings together. This is also why strong and structured regional professional associations are essential to support the development of the industry.
