Tourist revenues showed an increase of 1.6% at the end of May 2024, after a drop of 4.2% in the first quarter of the current year, according to the Department of Studies and Financial Forecasts (DEPF). “Tourist receipts improved by 10.9% during the first two months of the second quarter of 2024, bringing their growth to 1.6% at the end of May 2024, after a decline of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2024,” indicates the DEPF in its recent economic note. Furthermore, the number of nights spent in classified accommodation establishments increased by 15% during the first two months of the second quarter of 2024, after an increase of 2.9% during the first quarter of 2024, adds the same source. Regarding the volume of these overnight stays, it increased by 8.3% at the end of the first five months of 2024, driven by the increase in overnight stays for non-residents by 13%. Thus, the flow of arrivals to the destination “Morocco” exceeded 7.4 million arrivals at the end of the first half of 2024, a consolidation of 13.9%. This performance is due to the strengthening of arrivals of foreign tourists (+16.3%) which represented a share of 54.2% of total arrivals. Concerning the number of arrivals of Moroccans residing abroad (MRE), it increased by 11.2%, at the end of June 2024, with a share of total arrivals of 45.8%. Indeed, more than 4.1 million arrivals were welcomed at Morocco’s border crossings in Q2-2024, a consolidation of 14.8%, after an increase of 12.8% in Q1-2024. This result follows the performance of foreign tourist arrivals of +17.1% and those of MRE of +12.3%, after +15.4% and +9.8% respectively at the end of March 2024. After the exceptional growth of 55.8% recorded in the first quarter of 2023, the added value of the tourism sector improved by 1.9% for the first quarter of 2024. This growth would have accelerated in the second quarter 2024, as evidenced by the performance of all sector indicators during this quarter.
