A total of 651,708 tourists visited Morocco during the month of January, a figure up 10% compared to the same month of 2016, according to the Tourism Observatory.
The number of foreign tourists (TES) increased by 13%, while arrivals of Moroccans living abroad (MRE) increased by 7%, indicate statistics published by the Tourism Observatory for the month of January 2017, citing data communicated by the General Directorate of National Security.
Russian and Japanese boom
The kingdom’s main source markets started 2017 with « very positive » results, indicates the Observatory, reporting an increase of 13% for Spain, 8% for Germany and Holland and 6% for France and Belgium. Furthermore, other markets are showing “very encouraging” signs, such as the United States (+29%), South Korea (+41%), Russia (+84%) and Japan (+55%), adds the same source.
At the same time, the Observatory, which cites data communicated by tourist accommodation professionals, notes that total nights spent in classified tourist accommodation establishments showed an increase of 11% in January 2017 compared to 2016, driven by an increase of 21% in non-resident tourists and a drop of 8% for residents.
Agadir, Casablanca and Marrakech in the lead
At the geographical level, the top three tourist destinations, Agadir, Casablanca and Marrakech, accounted for 72% of total overnight stays, recording respective increases of 20%, 7% and 6%, the Observatory reports, adding that the cities of Fez and Tangier also posted an increase of 27% each.
Regarding room occupancy, the occupancy rate increased in January 2017 by two points compared to the same month last year to 34%. During the month of January 2017, travel revenue reached 4 billion dirhams, recording an increase of 2.9% compared to the same month of the past year.
source: huffpostmaghreb
