Intrepid expects to run 63 Morocco trips with 518 clients this week
IAN STALKER
Intrepid Travel is standing by earthquake-battered Morocco and is hoping international travellers will do likewise.
The adventure tour company announced last week a quick restart to its Morocco program after a halt following the Sept. 8 quake that left at least 2,900 people dead as of Friday and caused significant damage to parts of Marrakech and communities in the Atlas Mountains, two cornerstones of Moroccan tourism.
Intrepid Morocco tours featuring Marrakesh that are departing in the near future will spend a reduced amount of time in that city and Intrepid has decided against sending clients into the Atlas Mountains for the foreseeable future.
But Intrepid CEO James Thornton says the company wanted a quick Morocco restart, convinced tourists can continue to enjoy exploring the country at this time and the money their visits inject into the economy will help with Morocco’s recovery.
“Absolutely you can still go to Morocco,” Thornton said during a Toronto visit last Thursday. “There are so many highlights beyond Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains. I think people will still have a great time. At the moment, lots of people are continuing to travel. Tourism will play an important part of the recovery.”
The company is expecting to have 63 Morocco trips with 518 clients in the Sept. 13-22 period and its Morocco program had only seen 125 cancellations out of some 3,200 pre-earthquake bookings as of a week ago. Thornton added that parts of Marrakech’s old quarter — known as the medina — were damaged but “other parts are fine.”
The tour operator says all restaurants, hotels, airports, trains and other forms of transportation outside Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains are operating normally.
Among intact locales are Fez, like Marrakesh known for its old quarter; seaside Essaouira, which built a following with rock musicians in the 1960s and is believed to have inspired the Jimi Hendrix song Castles Made of Sand; and Casablanca, which continues to have a mystique, partly because of the movie of the same name.
Thornton noted tourists can also continue to explore the Sahara Desert. He added that Intrepid prides itself on getting people off the beaten track as well.
Thornton said that Intrepid’s large Moroccan staff is eager to see tourists continue to arrive, as are their counterparts with other companies, well aware that much of Morocco’s economy is tourism-dependent.
Intrepid itself quickly launched the Intrepid Foundation’s Morocco Earthquake Appeal, which as of Thursday had raised around $310,000. The Intrepid Foundation also committed itself to match every dollar raised up to $100,000. Money raised will be donated to Intrepid Moroccan NGO partners, one of which works with education and another which assists Atlas Mountains communities and will be lending a helping hand with the likes of clean water and shelter.
Morocco is Intrepid’s most popular destination in this country and vies with Vietnam when it comes to top destination among all its clientele.
The company has 33 multi-day Morocco tours and has nearly 80 employees in its Marrakech office, which Thornton will visit next month, and over 100 leaders and guides throughout the country.
Intrepid had 66 tour groups and around 650 clients in Morocco when the quake struck, with a smallish number needing medical attention but all surviving.
Thornton noted earthquakes are very unusual for the North African nation and he expects the country to recover quickly, labelling it an exotic country that’s relatively safe and easily accessible.
