Morocco's tough COVID restrictions hammer tourism sector

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of tourists riding camels in the Agafay desert near Marrakech, Morocco November 9, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo

RABAT (Reuters) - Businesses working in Morocco's key tourism sector say the country's tough COVID-19 restrictions, including a full flight ban, are undermining its competitiveness compared to rival destinations.

Morocco shut its borders in late November and will only reopen them at the end of January. It has also banned new year celebrations and is enforcing its vaccine pass requirements more strictly in response to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.