The push
for tourism
In late September, Morocco, along with New Zealand, Fiji, Prague and Australia, was rated as one of the five coolest places on earth in a survey carried out by the British consultancy firm Superbrands. While it might be stretching things somewhat to describe a country as a brand, as was done in the survey, the accolade would be welcomed by the Moroccan tourism industry and government, both of which are working hard to lift the sector’s profile.
The Moroccan government has launched Vision 2010, a broad-based policy to almost double the number of visitors to the country from the 5.8 million last year to 10 million by the end of the decade. There are encouraging signs that Vision 2010 could become a reality, with a 29% rise in hard currency income from tourism in the first seven months of the year, with receipts totalling just over $3 billion.
In a recent press interview, Tourism Minister Adil Douiri said the government was looking to encourage $7 billion in investment by 2010 to attract both weekend holiday makers and long-term visitors. More directly, the government has embarked on a $58 million international promotion campaign, evenly balanced between the modern and traditional attractions of Morocco.
Cheap flights now available
Morocco has long drawn a steady stream of overseas visitors, mainly from Europe, attracted by the country’s exotic image, good weather and comparative low costs. However, one thing that prevented this flow from becoming a flood was the relatively high price of flights into the country. This is now a thing of the past, with Morocco becoming the first African country to join Europe’s flight zone earlier this year and opening up routes to a series of budget airlines.
Within the past few months, a number of Europe’s low-cost carriers have either begun flying direct to Morocco or have announced plans to do so. In September, Irish airline Ryanair announced it would begin operating on the Barcelona-Marrakesh route early next year, while Britain’s Easyjet revealed plans to fly from Madrid to Casablanca. Already these and other air lines are responsible for 100 flights a week to Marrakesh from London alone, up from 36 at the beginning of the year, boosting British tourist numbers to 40% of this year’s total.
With the increasing number of carriers operating on Moroccan routes, there has been a slashing of fares, with some seats costing as little as $60 one way, a further incentive for cost-conscious travellers.
It is not just the budget traveller that Morocco is seeking to attract though. There is an increasing move towards capturing a slice of the upper end of the regional tourism market.
The growing numbers of wealthy tourists have also served to kickstart a flurry of development projects to cater to their every need. Among the big ticket schemes is Colony Capital’s $2 billion resort on the Atlantic coast near Agadir that will cover more than 8 million sq m, include up to five deluxe hotels and offer varied outdoor activities for the well-heeled. Another is a project by Kerzner International to develop a resort, complete with 500-room hotel, golf course, spa and casino, 80 km outside of Casablanca.
In mid-September, the multi-national developer Domaine Palm Marrakesh signed an agreement with the Moroccan government to establish an international-standard golf resort Marrakesh. Projected to cost $215 million, the resort will add 5,300 beds to the country’s accommodation capacity and will create more than 1,500 new jobs.
Tourism the answer to unemployment?
According to the National Tour-ism Office, there are presently some 50 hotels and 30 golf courses either in the planning or development stage, with more to come in the future.
And employment is one of the prime forces driving the government’s support for the sector, with urban jobless rate running at an estimated 20% and the rural population heavily dependent on at-times fickle agriculture for survival. The government hopes that along with a doubling of foreign visitors, an additional 600,000 new jobs will be created in the tourism and related services industries.
However, there are concerns that the very things that attract visitors to Morocco—fine beaches, traditional lifestyles, raw nature and hospitality—will be swamped under the influx of cut-price tours, cheap flights and the drive by locals to cash in on the overseas stampede. It is a risk the government is aware of but says it is determined to avoid.
The government plans to plough part of the money generated from tourism back into restoring the old cities, preserving the country’s heritage and culture. Police will even be tasked with controlling street sellers to stop tourists being harassed by touts and unwanted tour guides.
