The number of tourists who visited Ouarzazate during the first half of 2017 recorded an increase of 38%, going from 101,424 tourists in 2016 to 140,468 for the current year.
According to figures from the Provincial Tourism Council (CPT), the increase is due to the evolution of the number of arrivals of resident visitors which reached 30,023 tourists during the first half of 2017, compared to 24,384 during the same period in 2016, an increase of 23%.
The number of non-resident tourists also experienced significant growth (+43%) as their number increased from 77,040 in 2016 to 110,445 in 2017.
The month of June 2017 recorded a significant change compared to the same period last year, with the number of overnight stays increasing by 78% while the rate of tourists visiting the city increased by 118%.
France still at the top of tourist arrivals
France is the leading source market for the Ouarzazate destination with 17,174 tourists at the end of June 2017, compared to 13,837 in 2016, an increase of 24%, followed by Spain, whose number of tourists increased from 8,180 in 2016 to 13,324 this year (+63%).
The Germans in clear decline
The number of German tourists fell from 15,255 in 2016 to 10,937 in 2017, while other traditional markets recorded double-digit increases such as the United Kingdom (+14%), Italy (+33%) and the Netherlands (+48%).
Asia boosts arrivals
The best performances were observed in the Asian market. The number of Japanese tourists reached 8,379 visitors during the first half of 2017 compared to 4,943 in 2016 (+70%), while the greatest increase goes to Chinese tourists with 10,681 tourists this year, while no visits were recorded in 2016.
For nights recorded during the first half of 2017 in classified accommodation establishments in the province, the CPT recalled that Ouarzazate is in 2nd place in terms of progression at the national level (+38%), specifying that the volume of nights increased from 153,419 in 2016 to 211,765 this year.
The increase in overnight stays was greater for non-residents, whose number increased from 109,609 in 2016 to 165,430 in 2017 (+51%), while the increase in overnight stays for residents was 6%, with the number of domestic tourists having increased from 43,810 in 2016 to 46,335 this year.
Regarding the nationality of tourists, the French come in first place in terms of volume of overnight stays which reached 25,256 at the end of June 2017 compared to 20,515 at the end of June 2016 (+23%), followed by Spanish tourists who increased from 14,312 to 21,075 overnight stays during the same period (+47%).
As for the nights recorded by British, Italian, Dutch and Japanese tourists, they increased by 6%, 34%, 44% and 72% respectively during the first half of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. While Chinese tourists occupied 3rd place after the French and the Spanish with 15,870 nights.
For the month of June, overnight stays increased from 9,315 in 2016 to 16,623 in 2017, an increase of 78%, while the number of visitors increased from 5,422 to 11,817 for the same period, an increase of 118%.
Classified tourist establishments recorded a total of 66,950 overnight stays, of which 4-star hotels took 33.8%, 3-star hotels 21.8%, hostels 14%, 1-star hotels 11%, 5-star hotels 8.7%, 2-star hotels 5.5% and tourist residences 3.6%.
According to the CPT, the tourism sector has regained its place as the engine of the economy for the province of Ouarzazate, after the launch of an airline linking Ouarzazate to Brussels. The number of travelers using Ouarzazate airport increased by 44.39% at the end of June 2017, thus exceeding the figures recorded at other airports in the Kingdom (33.32% in Al Hoceima, 20% in Fez, 19.45% in Oujda, 19.26% in Tetouan, 18.55% in Tangier and 17.08% in Agadir).
source: h24info.ma
