The Morocco destination performed well in 2016 despite a very unfavorable international environment. Explanations and perspectives.
Foreign currency receipts linked to tourism activity occupy first place with 59.4 billion dirhams at the end of November 2016, an increase of +4.1%, making an appreciable contribution to foreign currency reserves. The Chinese market is experiencing strong growth, it has multiplied by 5 since the lifting of the visa. The Russian market saw an increase of more than 300%.
On December 19, 2016, the Moroccan National Tourism Office and the National Tourism Confederation organized a press briefing to present the annual review of the tourism industry and the sector’s development prospects over the next year. This meeting was chaired by Abderrafie Zouiten, general director of the ONMT and Abdellatif Kabbaj, president of the CNT and was attended by the presidents of the regional CRTs.
« In 2016, despite a very difficult international situation, the Morocco destination was able to do well thanks to the confidence of global operators and the strengthening of Morocco’s brand image, strong in several differentiating elements », indicates the ONMT. Indeed, following multiple actions undertaken by the ONMT and digital-focused communication, the tourist image of Morocco has been positively reinforced. The year was thus very rich in achievements for the Morocco tourist brand.
Among the operations which were very successful was the series of mini-reports broadcast in prime time on the M6 channel between October 3 and December 11. This campaign gave the floor to French people who were natives of Morocco, or who had chosen to settle there, who spoke with great emotion about their childhood in Morocco, their experiences and the emotional ties that unite them with our country.
Moreover, Marrakech was considered among the best Street Food destinations according to CNN in 2016, the seventh destination to visit in 2017 according to National Geographic and the third destination to discover according to Trip Advisor. Also, Morocco remains the favorite destination of the French according to the 2016 Ipsos Study commissioned by the Kayak price comparison site. As for the Kingdom’s various participations in world events, Morocco won the “Stand Display Award”, obtained during the MITT 2016 Show. Finally, the ONMT was acclaimed on March 22, 2016 in London on the occasion of the annual “Transform Awards Europe 2016” trophy ceremony, rewarding the most innovative campaigns of the year across Europe.
In terms of performance, tourism receipts in foreign currencies reached a historic peak with an increase of +4.1% to reach 59.4 billion dirhams at the end of November 2016; with this achievement, the sector rises to the rank of the leading foreign exchange-contributing sector of the national economy.
For arrivals, these should end up positive, +1.5% despite a very unfavorable international environment; this result is the result of the diversification strategy in other markets such as China and Russia. Concerning the Russian market, a 300% increase in arrivals was recorded at the end of November in Agadir following the launch of an ambitious promotional program. Arrivals have increased fivefold from China since the decision to abolish the visa.
For 2017, the outlook looks favorable. Many actions are planned to support this trend. The ONMT firstly intends to continue and strengthen its digital communication. On the digital front, 2017 will be marked in particular by the launch online of the new visitmorocco.com portal in 11 languages as a site for immersion, inspiration and reassurance and the consolidation of the destination’s presence strategy on social networks.
The ONMT will also continue its policy to strengthen air accessibility to the different regions of the Kingdom at attractive prices. Indeed, the image of our country being good, the security aspects under control, air capacity remains a vital element in converting this image into a flow of arrivals. Regions remain clearly insufficiently served even though the investments made are very significant, such as the North of Morocco, Agadir, Saïdia, Marrakech, Fez, the South, to name just these examples. For this reason, the ONMT worked for the installation of air bases in these regions. The office ended up winning its case, these will be operational from April 2017 in Fez and Agadir and will subsequently be operational for the other cities. The confidence of other air operators with the launch of more than 50 new air services, the return of Air France on the Paris-Marrakech route, of flights from the WizzAir company on the Warsaw-Agadir route, to name just these examples are positive levers.
Finally, the project to organize an African tourism fair in Morocco will undoubtedly give a boost to intra-African tourism.
