More industry leaders have followed Intrepid Travel boss James Thornton in urging the trade to throw its weight behind efforts to promote and support Morocco following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake which struck the country on September 8.
The natural disaster killed more than 2,500 people and injured thousands. Its epicentre was in the remote Atlas Mountains southwest of Marrakech, where buildings collapsed in the old town (Medina), while tremors were felt in capital Rabat, Casablanca and Essaouira.
Already numerous fundraising appeals have been launched by travel companies to send aid and help rural communities most affected by the disaster.
More: ‘We have to rebuild’: industry figures describe Morocco earthquake experiences
The Foreign Office has updated its advice but the destination remains open to visitors. Airports and flights have continued to operate and tourist sites beyond Marrakech have been largely unaffected.
EasyJet holidays cancelled “a small number” of holidays while Tui reported minimal damage to hotels and customers continued their holidays. Its next flight to Marrakech departs on September 15.
Specialists have amended itineraries to avoid the Atlas Mountains and parts of Marrakech.
Explore cancelled trekking trips until the end of the year but is due to restart other Morocco trips on September 16; G Adventures cancelled five tours until September 16 but is running others as planned while Intrepid Travel was due to restart amended tours on September 14.
Of more than 600 Intrepid customers in Morocco, only 17 chose to go home, and only 20 forward bookings for this year have been cancelled.
Managing director EMEA Zina Bencheikh, who is from Marrakech, was among those to issue a rallying call. She was in Casablanca when the earthquake struck and travelled to her home city of Marrakech the following day to Intrepid’s offices to check on staff and customers as the operator put its emergency plan in place and launched a fundraising appeal.
She said: “Don’t switch Morocco off. The best thing the trade can do is support Morocco. We need people to book with operators and agents, that’s the best way to book in any uncertain time, and that’s why agents have an incredible role to play to support the destination.”
She emphasised the plight of Moroccan communities reliant on tourism, adding: “We would not travel here if it wasn’t safe. You can still enjoy Morocco on holiday. We have to rebuild; their livelihoods depend on that.”
Intrepid chief executive James Thornton previously made a plea to the trade to back the destination in its moment of need, urging agents and operators to continue selling the destination.
“It’ll be even more tragic if customers stay away from this beautiful country,” he said, adding: “Many other parts of Marrakech, many other tourist parts of Casablanca, Meknes, Fez, Rabat, the Sahara desert; they’re fine, they’re operating normally.”
Mike Bonner, global director of sales, marketing and digital for luxury travel brands consultancy Perowne International, was in Marrakech at the time of the quake and echoed the plea by the Intrepid bosses.
He said: “The biggest thing the industry can do is support tourism and donate to the various funds. The reality is Morocco and other parts of the destination are operating and it’s safe. The people need the [tourism] income, they were hit badly by Covid.”
Bonner witnessed residents sleeping in the streets and delegates due to attend cancelled luxury travel conference Pure Life Experiences 2023 in Marrakech bedding down by hotel pools following advice to vacate buildings.
“People were worried about staying inside their buildings. There were people due to attend the Pure conference who were grabbing duvets and pillows from their hotel rooms and sleeping by the pool. People slept outside, on the streets, for the whole weekend,” he said, recalling the earthquake itself sounded like “trucks rumbling down the street”.
Travel agent Sarah Bentall, who owns Studio Wanderwell and was due to attend the conference, said: “We need to be encouraging people to get back there, getting money back into the economy and into the hands of local people.”
Mountain lodge Kasbah du Toubkal near Imlil in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, used by operators for trekking, has closed until further notice.
No-one was injured but the lodge lost five of 15 bedrooms, its kitchen and dining room.
Owners and brothers Chris and Mike McHugo, directors of Aito operator Discover Limited, were there when the quake struck.
Chris said: “It was like white water rafting on land but only lasted about 10 seconds. It’s our busy season so we’ve been contacting clients to see if they want to stay somewhere else. The damage in the new part of our building is very superficial, most of the photos are still on the walls.
“It looks as if we will have to demolish all of the damaged buildings; we will need to make the site collectively safe. It’s going to take a while. Earthquakes of this size don’t happen very often. We don’t know how we are going to fund it but we will build back better.”
The McHugos founded charity Education for All which funds an education for girls from rural villages in the mountains and is being supported by Intrepid’s earthquake emergency appeal. Five of the six boarding houses used by the charity have been damaged and the fate of many of the girls and their families remains unknown, with many missing.
The appeal, which is also collecting money for the High Atlas Foundation, had raised more than $308,000 – nearly £160,000 – by Wednesday.
Read full personal accounts of travel industry professionals who were in Morocco at the time of the tragedy
Photo: Mike Bonner
More: ‘We have to rebuild’: industry figures describe Morocco earthquake experiences