Culture

Morocco launches ‘Cap Hospitality’ to upgrade accommodations for tourists

Published

5 days ago

June 27, 2024

The Moroccan Tourism Ministry has launched a “Cap Hospitality” platform that will provide support and financing mechanism aimed at accelerating the upgrading of the county’s classified tourist accommodation establishments.

The “Cap Hospitality” hub which was launched on Wednesday is part of an agreement between the ministry, the Ministry delegated to the Budget, the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment, and the Moroccan Society of Tourist engineering.

Minister of Tourism Fatim-Zahra Ammor, who led the launch of the initiative, said the mechanism will target the upgrading of 25,000 accommodation rooms with an expected investment impact of up to MAD 4 billion ($402.8 million).

“The initiative reflects Morocco’s commitment to boosting its tourism facilities and accommodation capacity amid the significant increase in tourist arrivals as well as in preparing for upcoming sporting events like AFCON 2025 and the 2030 World Cup,” Ammor said.

“Covering the period between 2024 and 2025, the program provides a loan where the government covers all interest costs for the upgrading of the accommodation facilities.

“Loan amounts range from MAD 3 million ($302,145) to MAD 100 ($10 million), with a maturity of up to 12 years,” he added.

Ammor stressed the need to accelerate investments in tourist accommodation, adding that this mechanism presents a unique opportunity to modernize facilities and improve services in the tourism industry.

Morocco has frequently emphasized the importance of the tourism industry, one of the key sectors contributing to the country’s economy, with travel revenues reaching MAD 31.87 billion ($3 billion) in the past four months, with nearly six million foreign tourists visiting Morocco by the end of May this year.

Last year alone, Morocco welcomed 14.5 million tourists, with the country hoping to increase this figure increased to over 15 million in 2024.

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Culture

Tems, Tyla bag 2024 BET Awards

Published

21 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigerian and South African female singers, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, and Tyla Laura Seethal, simply known as Tyla, once again, made the continent proud when they bagged different gongs at the BET Awards held at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles on Monday.

It was Tems’ fourth and she did it in grand style by edging out top stars like Kirk Franklin, CeCe Winans, Maverick City Music, and others to win the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award with her 2023 song, “Me & U” at the 2024 ceremony.

Tems had earlier won two BET Awards in 2022 for Best International Act and Best Collaboration for Wizkid’s “Essence”.

In the 2023 edition, Tems also won the Best Collaboration award for her song with Drake and Future “Wait for U”.

South Africa’s “Ampioano” star, Tyla, however, took home two awards for Best New Artist and Best International Act.

The BET Awards, established in 2001 by Black Entertainment Television, is an American award show that recognises and celebrates the achievements of Black entertainers and other underrepresented groups in music, film, sports and philanthropy.

Culture

Egyptian movie Smokey Eyes to compete at 5th Amman Int’l Film Festival

Published

2 days ago

June 30, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Egyptian thriller, “Smokey Eyes”, is set to compete at the 5th Amman International Film Festival which will hold in Jordan from July 3rd to 11th.

“Smokey Eyes”, which was directed by one of Egypt’s top directors, Ali Ali, will feature in the Arab Short Films Competition which will be a tough fight for movies in the MENA region.

“Smokey Eyes” which already had its world premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival, is a story that delves into the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian uprising, addressing social issues such as police brutality, religious tensions, and restricted freedoms for women.

The thriller also marks the acting debut of Egyptian rapper, Marwan Moussa, and follows the character Nour, whose planned date night in Cairo is disrupted by unforeseen events.

“Smokey Eyes” also stars Malak Bazid, Marwan Moussa, Hassan Abouelrouss, Nourine Abouseada and Mohamed Aboughali.

Directed by Ali and written by Nancy Ali, it features cinematography by Pierre Mouarkech and editing by Nada Zag and was produced by Khaled Zaki of Good People Films produced the film, with a soundtrack composed by Sary Hany.

Ali Ali is probably Egypt’s number one film director and co-founder of Good People Films who transitioned from being a computer engineer to pursuing his passion for storytelling through film.

He made his directorial debut in advertising with the popular NEVER SAY NO TO PANDA ad, which amassed 100m YouTube views and earned him the prestigious Gold Lion Award at Cannes.

Throughout his career, Ali has garnered numerous accolades, including four coveted Yellow Pencils in Direction from London’s D&AD and over eight Gold Lions from Cannes.

He has also served as the President of the Direction Jury at London’s D&AD Awards in 2020, a member of the Film Jury at Cannes Lions International Festival in 2023, and has been recognized as one of the Ten Most Influential Advertising Directors in the World Today by Adweek and the Gunn Report.