Morocco welcomed a total of 14.5 million visitors in 2023, an increase of 34% compared to the previous year. A record year, despite the worrying drop in the number of tourists in certain classic markets such as Germany. According to L’Économiste, the number of German tourists arriving in Morocco in 2023 fell by 32% compared to 2019, as did that of Dutch (−20%), Belgian (−17%), Italian (−5%) and American (−5%) tourists. The largest drop was noted among Chinese tourists (−62%), indicates the specialized daily, noting that on the contrary, the number of Spanish and British visitors increased by 48% and 23% respectively. Figures remained stable for French tourists visiting the kingdom during the period. Read: Tourists in Morocco: figures from a record year Zoubir Bouhoute, expert specializing in the tourism sector, explains that the drop in the number of German tourists has led to a drop in overnight stays of more than 50%, going from 1,746,000 in 2019 to 864,000 in 2023, while the trend was upward between 2013 and 2019, with an increase of 74%. “If we compare the figure recorded between 2013 and 2019, we notice that it far exceeds the figures recorded in other global markets, with an increase in the number of French visitors by 12%, Spaniards by 29%, British by 37%, Italians by 50% and Dutch by 14%, which confirms the importance of the German market before the coronavirus pandemic,” he explains in an interview with Al3omk. Read: Morocco: record number of tourists in September, despite the earthquake The expert justifies this sharp drop by the closure of borders due to the Covid-19 health crisis, further highlighting the gradual return of German tourists to Morocco with around 864,000 overnight stays in 2023, compared to around 428,000 in 2022. The kingdom could return to pre-Covid figures by 2025, if a good tourism promotion strategy Moroccan to the German market is being implemented, Bouhoute indicated, insisting on the need to open direct lines between Germany and the Moroccan cities preferred by German tourists, including Agadir and Essaouira.
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