The boom in Moroccan tourism is pushing several large Spanish hotel groups to strengthen their presence in Morocco. According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Spanish hotel giants like Barceló, Riu, Iberostar and Meliá have set their sights on Morocco where they plan to strengthen their presence to take advantage of the tourism boom that the kingdom is experiencing. For these four groups, Morocco is a popular destination because of its political and social stability compared to other countries in the region, analyzes the Spanish newspaper. At the end of November 2023, Morocco received 13.2 million tourists, exceeding the 12.9 million travelers recorded during 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. A record which encourages large hotel groups to invest more in Morocco, explains the Spanish media, citing the example of Barceló which already has eight hotels in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Tangier, Fez and Agadir, but which announced last October an investment of more than 80 million euros for the acquisition and renovation of two 5-star hotels in Casablanca and Rabat. Read: The Albatros hotel chain is betting on Agadir Established in Morocco since 2002, the Riu group has six hotel establishments in Agadir, Marrakech and Taghazout, specifies the same source, stressing that the Iberostar hotel chain has three hotels in the kingdom. According to the Spanish newspaper, group officials welcomed the “effective measures” put in place by the Moroccan authorities to develop the tourism sector. As for the Meliá group, it has a hotel in Marrakech and claims to be studying new investment projects in the kingdom. In addition to these large Spanish hotel groups, Morocco also attracts smaller chains such as Inveravante which already has five hotels in Tangier and Casablanca.
source: bladi.net
