HIBAPRESS – Rabat
A new communication deal concluded by the Moroccan National Tourism Office has sparked a wave of widespread criticism, after data circulated indicating the allocation of more than 400 million centimes for a Moroccan influencer, as part of a mission to bring a number of YouTubers and African influencers to promote Morocco in conjunction with the African Cup of Nations.
According to consistent sources, the deal, which was carried out outside the tender procedure, was not limited to bringing content creators, but also included promoting what followers described as "makers of triviality," including a foreign influencer who sparked ridicule and controversy, after appearing to perform acrobatic movements and moving on a wheel inside a number of Moroccan cities, under the pretext of advertising Morocco in the context of the "CAN". This method of promotion raised major question marks about the message that is intended to be conveyed about Morocco, especially since the Kingdom is hosting a continental event the size of the African Cup of Nations, which is supposed to highlight its organizational, sporting and civilizational image, not to be reduced to superficial display clips that do not reflect the depth of the event or the value of the country. Critics of the deal believe that the African Cup of Nations has, for years, surpassed the limits of promotion through influencers, by virtue of the wide television coverage that reaches hundreds of millions of viewers, in addition to the expected African public presence, and the intensive movement of fans between Moroccan cities. Which makes, according to them, betting on "influencers" a secondary matter, if not unjustified, especially when it comes to huge sums of public money. What is most infuriating, according to a number of followers, is that these influencers make large financial profits from the content they publish about Morocco, through views and advertisements, which makes the question legitimate: why does Morocco pay them? Isn't it more appropriate for them to pay in return for benefiting from the image of a country and organizing a major continental event? Critics also considered that the Moroccan National Tourism Office, instead of investing in well-studied institutional campaigns or supporting professional media and long-term smart promotion, chose the easiest way: pumping money into fast-consuming content, without clear guarantees about the return or the real impact on tourism. In light of this controversy, public opinion is demanding transparent clarifications about the details of the deal, the criteria for selecting influencers, and the reasons for spending more than 400 million centimes on content that many consider far from the level of a continental event the size of the “CAN”, and from the image of Morocco that it has accumulated through years of diplomatic, sporting and organizational work.
