IX. BUSINESS TRAVEL Business Customs: Morocco is a Muslim country. Business meetings are best avoided on Friday, which is the main prayer day. Consumption of alcohol during the fasting month of Ramadan and eating of pork is prohibited for Muslims only. Businesses operate Monday through Friday. Customs regulations permit duty-free entry of clothing, personal effects, and household items intended for personal use, subject to specified limits on the amount of film, tobacco and other consumables. Travellers wishing to import a vehicle must present the registration papers issued in the country of origin to obtain free entry. The initial dispensation expires at the end of 6 months, at which time the vehicle becomes subject to the usual customs provisions. With the exception of limited personal allowances for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, all other goods for sale are subject to duty. Travel Advisory and Visas: U.S. citizens do not need a visa for entry into the country. Holidays: Official holidays and others on which government offices and business establishments are likely to be closed are: March 3 (Throne Day), May 1 (Labor Day), May 23 (National Holiday), March 30 (Aid El Fitr), June 5 (Aid El Adha), June 25 (Moslem New Year), September 5 (Prophet's Birthday), July 9 (King's Birthday), August 14 (Saharan Province Day), November 6 (Green March Day), November 18 (Independence Day). Holidays underlined are based on the lunar calendar and change every year. Time: Moroccan time is Greenwich Mean Time. Currency: The Moroccan currency unit is the Dirham, abbreviated as DH. There are 100 centimes to each dirham. Bank notes are denominated in 200, 100, 50, and 10 dirhams. Weights and Measures: The metric system is used. Electrical Standards: Electric power in Morocco is 50 cycle, one and three phase, with nominal voltage in the largest cities at 115 or 220 volts (usually the latter). Business Infrastructure: Transportation to and from Morocco is extensive. Morocco has more than 16,000 miles of paved roads and well over a thousand miles of rail lines. Additionally, Morocco has 19 main and regional sea ports and 39 airports of which 11 are international. The following airlines provide freight and scheduled passenger air service between Morocco and most major international locations. ROYAL AIR MAROC offers every Tuesday and Saturday year-round non- stop B747 service from New York to Casablanca with connections to and from Europe, West Africa and the Middle East. KLM/NORTHWEST operates from New York twice daily with 747 service to Amsterdam. There is a new 4 times weekly service from Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis also have regularly scheduled service to Amsterdam with connecting flights to Casablanca three days a week. LUFTHANSA flies to Morocco via Frankfurt from 13 U.S. cities, 4 times a week. AIR FRANCE offers frequent connections to Morocco via Paris from Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York (JFK), San Francisco or Washington DC. Several U.S. and international shipping lines offer frequent dry cargo container service, frozen and refrigerated service to and from Morocco's many ports. There is however, no direct shipping service to Morocco from the U.S. Language: French (business), Arabic (official), Berber dialects, Spanish (in the North). A substantial and growing number of Moroccan young entrepreneurs conduct business in English. Communications: The telephone service is being improved. It is now possible to call a large number of foreign countries by direct dialing. Telefax and telex facilities for communication to most parts of the world are also available. Direct dialing to the United States is available, but expensive. Dialing Country Code from the United States to Morocco is 212, Casablanca 2, Rabat 7. The PTT operates a packet switching network "Magrhipac" permitting 1,200 band data transmission to U.S. gateways like tymenet. Housing: Rental of appartments and houses in Casablanca is expensive. Depending on size and area, e.g. a two story 4 bedroom house with a good garden and standard amenities in a very good neighborhood can cost about USD 35-40,000 per year. Two year leases, with rent payable quarterly are common. Office Space: Good office space in the major cities is abundant but not cheap. Although rents have softened in the past year by up to fifteen percent, international standard space is still in high demand. Rent prices are however negotiable. Health: There are 48 private clinics and about 80 government hospitals in major cities providing basic and surgery health care. Dental care is good and there are several English speaking doctors and dentists in Casablanca and Rabat. Hotels: Among the better 4 or 5 star business hotels are: Casablanca Holiday Inn Phone # (212) [2] 294949, Fax # 293029 Casablanca Hyatt Regency Phone # (212) [2] 261234, Fax # 220180 Royal Mansour Phone # (212) [2] 313011, Fax # 314818 Casablanca Sheraton Phone # (212) [2] 317878, Fax # 315136 Rabat Rabat Hyatt Regency Phone # (212) [7] 6712347, Fax # 671492 La Tour Hassan Phone # (212) [7] 721401 Tangier El Minzah Phone # (212) [9] 947011, Fax # 947011 Food: Tap water in major cities is generally potable, but as a short-time visitor it would be wise to drink only bottled water. Food in general is good in Morocco, however unless someone has been living or traveling in this part of the world for a long time, it is best to avoid eating raw produce such as salads or unpeeled fruits. Good to excellent restaurants abound. Schools: The Casablanca American School offers nursery through grade 12. There are also American schools in Rabat and Tangier offering classes from kindergarten through grade 12.