Arrivals jump by 9% and overnight stays by 10% at the end of May 2014
The numbers say it well. Tourism is in great health in 2014. Indeed, according to the tourism statistics bulletin at the end of May 2014, published by the Tourism Observatory, the Morocco destination is still as popular as ever. Thus, during the first five months of the year, the volume of arrivals at border posts reached 3.57 million tourists, an increase of 9% compared to 2013. This is what emerges from the data communicated by the General Directorate of National Security.
As a result, the main source markets recorded positive results, in particular that of Germany which improved by 12%, that of the United Kingdom which increased by 21% and that of Italy which recorded an increase of 18%. In the same wake, France, Belgium and Spain also posted respective increases of 9, 8 and 5%.
At the same time, according to data communicated by tourist accommodation professionals, at the end of May 2014, total nights spent in classified tourist accommodation establishments recorded an increase of 10% compared to the same period of 2013. This is how the two tourist centers Marrakech and Agadir recorded respective increases of 10 and 8% and alone generated 60% of total additional nights during the first five months of 2014.
The other destinations also showed very positive results with Casablanca recording an increase of 12%, Fez by 13%, Rabat improving by 6% and Tangier by 10%. Also, the occupancy rate until the end of May 2014 recorded an increase of three points compared to 2013 to stand at 45%. In this regard, the Foreign Exchange Office underlines, for its part, that during the first five months of 2014, revenues generated by the tourist activity of non-residents in Morocco amounted to 21.7 billion dirhams compared to 21 billion dirhams in 2013, an increase of 3.2%.
Regarding the achievements of the month of May 2014 alone, the number of tourist arrivals at border crossings recorded an increase of 5% compared to that of 2013. In more detail, tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom saw an increase of 23%, Italy by 7%, France a jump of 6% and Spain by 3%. On the other hand, arrivals of German and Dutch tourists showed respective drops of 4 and 1%.
Also, overnight stays in classified establishments experienced growth of 6% in this month of May compared to that of 2013. At the geographical level, almost the majority of the main destinations in the Kingdom recorded increases in their overnight stays in May, with an increase of 5% for Marrakech, 1% for Agadir, 17% for Casablanca, 12% for Tangier and 19% for Fez.
In this wake, regarding room occupancy, the occupancy rate improved by one point compared to the same month last year. It reached 47% in May 2014. However, during this month of May 2014, travel receipts in foreign currency reached 4.68 billion dirhams, recording a drop of 3% compared to the same month of the past year.
Tourism and Ramadan: Forced marriage…
Tourist activity experienced a slowdown during Ramadan 2013, which was materialized by a drop in attendance at classified tourist accommodation establishments (EHTC). This is what emerged from the recent analysis of tourist activity during the month of Ramadan 2013 published by the Tourism Observatory. Also, the impact of the month of Ramadan on the growth in EHTC attendance is minus 4 points for the summer period and around minus 0.7 points over the entire year. Likewise, the impact of the month of Ramadan on the spending of foreign tourists, who stay in EHTCs, is approximately less than 20% for the month of July and less than 2% for the year 2013.
Note that “package” trips are the least impacted by the drop in activity during Ramadan, knowing that one in two foreign tourists did not know that their stay coincided with the month of Ramadan and that the latter is characterized by changes in lifestyle.
Furthermore, tourists traveling “alone” and “with friends” are, relatively, the segments most satisfied with their trip to Morocco during the Ramadan period. On the other hand, “couples” and “families” are, relatively, the least satisfied. As such, 16% of foreign tourists do not intend to return to Morocco during Ramadan compared to 1% for a normal month.
| Tourist priorities: 6 major projects identifiedSince last April, the tourism department has identified priority projects for the development of the Morocco destination. This diagnosis resulted in the creation of six thematic commissions whose main mission is to monitor the strategic projects of Vision 2020. Thus, governance, product and investment, promotion and aviation, human capital, sustainable tourism as well as competitiveness and quality are the main areas of work on which the identified teams will focus.
Just last week, the six commissions took stock of their roadmaps for the 2014-2015 period. The actions will be structured around the establishment of bodies in charge of territorial governance and the reorganization of the Tourism Observatory. Likewise, the regulations and professionalization of professions will be modernized with a view to establishing an integrated support system for tourism businesses and professions. It will also follow the establishment of awareness and training systems, the launch of a Mice Morocco thread as well as the establishment of mechanisms and measures promoting the dynamics of tourism investment. |
