The Moroccan tourist office is increasing promotional activities in France and Italy, but is also seeking to diversify its source markets. The objective? Cross the 11 million tourist mark in 2017.
If Morocco seeks to diversify its markets, it does not neglect the so-called traditional markets. The Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) has recently launched a press campaign in France, with a slogan taken from Eugène Delacroix’s travel diary: « This place is made for painters… Beauty abounds there. »
Nearly 3.3 million French tourists visited Morocco in 2016, which represents 32% of arrivals recorded at the kingdom’s border posts. The ONMT thus seeks to consolidate the Moroccan position on this market, but is also trying to make a breakthrough in other European countries.
The Italian market is particularly targeted by the actions planned by the ONMT in 2017. Currently, Morocco is taking part in the International Tourism Stock Exchange (BIT), a high mass for tourism professionals which opened in Milan on Sunday April 2. The Kingdom of Morocco aims to attract some 425,000 Italian tourists this year, 5% more than in 2016.
Morocco focuses on culture
In a statement made to the official Moroccan press agency (MAP), Jazia Sentissi, ONMT delegate in Italy, listed the various promotional actions planned on this market: organization of ten press trips, participation in two major general public and B2B (business to business) events, concentration of the Moroccan presence on various cultural events.
“Unlike previous years, the preferred actions are those of cultural sharing between the two countries in areas related to gastronomy, cinema and crafts,” explains the manager. The kingdom’s participation as guest of honor in several Italian cultural festivals is an excellent vector for making our wealth and history known. »
Apart from European markets, the ONMT intends to redouble its efforts to attract more American and Russian tourists but also Chinese. These source countries have strong potential for the kingdom, which intends to attract 600,000 additional tourists in 2017, to cross the 11 million mark.
This objective seems achievable, given the performance recorded over the first two months of the year, where the number of arrivals jumped by 10%. The trend in reservations for the rest of the year remains encouraging.
source: jeuneafrique
