Foreign currency revenues generated by tourism saw a significant increase of 33% during the first eight months of 2023, reaching a record of 71.4 billion dirhams (MMDH), according to the Ministry of Tourism, Crafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy.
This remarkable performance is the result of the increase in the number of tourists, which amounted to 10.2 million people at the end of last August, representing a growth of 49% compared to the year 2022, as indicated by the ministry in a press release. The Minister of Tourism, Crafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatim-Zahra Ammor, commented on these results by underlining the considerable appeal of the Moroccan tourist destination and the relevance of the actions undertaken in the air sector as well as with tour operators in the main source markets. Despite the challenges posed by the earthquake, the minister remains optimistic about the outlook for the end of the year and expresses her commitment to working closely with professionals in the sector to maintain activities and quickly revive tourism growth. In the same context, the Office des Changes noted, in its recent bulletin on monthly indicators of foreign trade, that travel-related receipts exceeded the level reached at the end of August 2019, the reference year before the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, these revenues reached 52.60 billion dirhams. In addition, travel-related expenses totaled 16.52 billion dirhams at the end of last August, which contributed to a surplus travel balance amounting to 54.84 billion dirhams, compared to 42.02 billion dirhams at the end of August 2022. The Office of Change also revealed that fund transfers made by Moroccans residing in abroad reached 77.92 billion dirhams during the first eight months of 2023, recording an increase of 7.2% compared to the same period of the previous year. Finally, the bulletin from the Office des Changes indicated that the balance of trade in services showed a surplus up 37.7% to 91.73 billion dirhams, resulting in particular from the growth in exports of services of 24.6%, totaling 171.94 billion dirhams, surpassing imports of services by 12.3%, which amounted to 80.21 billion dirhams.
source: lopinion.ma
