After a modest increase recorded in 2016, Moroccan tourism should record a growth in arrivals of 6% in 2017.
Abderrafie Zouitene, director of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT), forecasts a 6% growth in arrivals for 2017. This figure represents an increase of more than 600,000 visitors. Encouraging figures, according to Abdellatif Kabbaj, president of the National Tourism Confederation, contacted by Telquel.ma.
Since January, arrivals recorded at border crossings have been increasing. According to the Moroccan Tourism Observatory, 651,708 tourists visited Morocco in January 2017 (+10% year-on-year). Last year, tourism recorded timid growth despite a gloomy international context. 10.3 million tourists visited Morocco over the whole of 2016, an increase of 1.5% compared to 2015. Revenues also increased by 3.17% in 2016. They stood at 63 billion dirhams, or 2 billion more than in 2015.
« Trends are good in terms of bookings for the rest of the year »
Zouitene is confident for the rest of the year. The tourism sector is diversifying and opening up to new markets, particularly Russian and Chinese. Since last June, Chinese nationals have been able to travel to Morocco without a visa. In January and February, Chinese arrivals increased by 22% compared to 2016, despite an indirect airline requiring the Chinese to have a connection in Paris. Russian arrivals increased by… 923%!
New factors should further favor tourist flows in the kingdom. Among them, the opening of Dakhla internationally from next November with the launch of a Dakhla-Paris airline. Morocco thus hopes to develop sports and ecological tourism. Also, Marrakech airport welcomes the Air France company which, after 10 years of absence, will operate the Paris Charles de Gaulle-Marrakech connection. Moreover, Marrakech airport welcomed 319,888 passengers last February, an increase of 8.63% compared to 2016.
For Abdellatif Kabbaj, we must not be satisfied with these figures. We must also tackle the seaside sector likely to attract a large number of tourists for a stay of more than 5 days. « There are not enough offers on the seaside. We must develop the south of Agadir up to Tan Tan« . For Kabbaj, we must focus on this region, because it is “less isolated than Saïdia”.
source: as is
