Bencheikh, who is Moroccan, travelled to the north African country on Monday (7 February) and said it "felt great" to return and "kick off 2022". "The UK has been a really, really good market for us in January," she said.
"The news about Morocco reopening will give our source markets another boost because it was our best-selling destination in 2019 worldwide so it is really, really good for us that Morocco has reopened."
Bencheikh added the relaxation of restrictions was another "good opportunity" for travel agents to demonstrate their value by helping clients through "the nightmare" of paperwork and Covid-19 enforced travel regulations.
"From an agent perspective, we’re still in a pandemic – there are still conditions to enter countries, leave countries, re-enter, etc," she said. "It’s so complex, even for myself who works in travel."
Bencheikh hailed the Moroccan government’s decision to take "a risk-based approach" to reopening, with the local tourism industry and the wider travel sector having "really suffered" after the country enforced major travel curbs late last year.
"Suppliers are working hard, and we really want to keep our trips open as late as possible so we can get people back to work," said Bencheikh. "Even though we are not filling them completely, maybe just breaking even, it is fine because we really want to trips up and running as soon as possible."
Intrepid currently offers around 20 tours to the destination, including a 15-day Premium Morocco in Depth tour, with prices from £2,480pp.
Hala Benkhaldoun, Morocco general manager for Intrepid, told TTG the destination’s key selling point was the range of unique experiences customers can sample in a single trip. "You move from the high mountains to the deserts, the north, with beautiful views and very different things to do and it can all be packed in one single trip," she said.
"The diversity of Morocco is one of the key selling points for me. You can travel to Morocco all year long, whenever you travel there the weather is nice, it is almost always sunny, so especially in the winter when it is so cold in our source markets, just being able to come to Morocco with really sunny skies is so amazing."
Benkhaldoun added travellers would meet brilliant people and local communities "known for their hospitality" during any visit to the country. "When you come to Morocco, you have a full experience with some really amazing local interactions," she said.
