As Morocco moves forward to meet tourism development targets for 2010, the decisive liberalization of the kingdom’s air transport is beginning to bear fruit. Tourism arrivals registered a year-on-year rise of 14% in 2007, according to the Ministry of Tourism, bringing a total of 6.72 million visitors to the developing country. Building up its tourism industry is a top priority for this destination, which is a mere two hour flight from major European cities like Paris and Madrid. Morocco and the European Union signed an Open Skies Agreement in 2006, paving the way for growth in the underdeveloped Moroccan air transport sector as well as heightened competition for its national carrier, Royal Air Maroc (RAM). Competition from low-cost European airlines is already bringing Morocco closer to achieving its goal of 10 million tourist arrivals by 2010, but some are worried about the effect of competition on local carriers. Although the
