Great offensive on the part of Moroccan professionals in the tourism sector who are determined to reconquer one of the most important source markets in the world: the German market. They thus participated in force at the 52nd edition of the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin.
“It’s true that business in Germany has become a little difficult recently, particularly due to the awakening of Egypt whose activity is taking off again and impacting us, but we will continue to develop to regain our market share,” explains Salaheddine Benhammane, Managing Director of Atlas Hospitality, Southern region. “With our partner FTI, we managed to exceed the objectives set,” he added.
Indeed, instead of the 100,000 tourists targeted a little over two years ago, 150,000 chose the destination Morocco for their vacations. Which proves that the partnership between FTI and Atlas Hospitality remains on good foundations, in the short and medium term, with notably nine charters placed in Agadir in the first year, then 4 others in Marrakech. Today, the objective for the next 3 years is to reach the mark of 500,000 German tourists, we are told.
A development which should benefit the tourism sector at the national level, assures Benhammane. And this, especially since 40% to 50% of this German clientele opts for travel on tours to visit the imperial cities and discover the country. Professionals are, however, aware that in-depth work must be done on litter capacity, which must increase and meet international quality standards.
If the problem does not arise for Marrakech in terms of quantity, this is not the case for Agadir which, with a population of nearly 30,000, in reality only has nearly 50% of marketable beds. It is true that in less than a year and a half, the Taghazout station will start, which will certainly breathe new life into the destination both in terms of new quality products and in terms of litter capacity.
But on this aspect, it is above all the qualitative dynamic which is important, because it should push hoteliers to review their products and to shape them in a way more adapted to the demand and the standards required by the TOs. In this regard, the recent decline recorded by the German market in the Agadir destination during the first quarter of 2018 is partly due to the closure of the Robinson Club and Iberostar for rehabilitation.
Otherwise, in addition to FTI, it is mainly TOs like TUI, through its subsidiary which manages Riu Tikida Beach, Tikida Dunas, Tikida Palace and Robinson Club, and on the other hand, Thomas Cook with Iberostar which attract German affluence to the destination with occupancy rates reaching up to 90%.
As for the other hotels, they are left behind because they do not meet the required standards. “Today, German TOs are very interested in investments in Agadir in particular and we must therefore work on new alternatives to support this renewed interest,” explains Rachid Dahmaz, general director of MTS. The meeting scheduled by the Ministry of Tourism on April 2, in Agadir, should make it possible to relaunch the 2020 vision and boost this vital sector.
source: leconomiste.com
