Tourism
From The Report: Morocco 2014
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Morocco’s tourism sector has undergone a major shift in recent years in large measure due to the implementation of the Moroccan National Tourism Office’s (ONMT) Vision 2020 programme, which seeks to attract 20m tourists by 2020. The programme also aims at raising the country’s “sun and surf” profile, boosting annual revenues to Dh140bn (€12.43bn), increasing hotel bed capacity to 375,000 and creating 9500 new jobs in the industry, all by 2020. While the economic crisis in Europe and the fallout from the Arab Spring elsewhere in North Africa have continued to impact the tourism industry in Morocco, the sector has nevertheless seen moderate expansion in activity. With 10m tourists visiting Morocco in 2013, the tourism sector is a leading contributor to the kingdom’s GDP, at around 7%. The ONMT predicts that Morocco will receive 10.7m tourists in 2014 and 12m in 2016. Tourist expenditure and nights spent at hotels, however, have decreased. Taken together, these factors have put pressure on profits and prices have been reduced in an effort to boost volumes. Efforts by both the public and private sectors mean that the industry’s long-term outlook remains robust, although things may be more volatile in the medium term. This chapter contains an interview with Lahcen Haddad, Minister of Tourism.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Rising expectations: Plans to further sector development are moving forward
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While the economic crisis in Europe and the fallout from the Arab Spring elsewhere in North Africa have continued to impact the tourism industry in Morocco, resulting in more modest growth in tourist arrivals and length of stays, the sector has nevertheless seen moderate expansion in activity. The tourism sector has undergone a major shift in recent years in large measure due to the implementation of the Moroccan National Tourism Office’s (Office National Marocain du Tourisme, ONMT) Vision 2020 programme, which seeks to attract 20m tourists, raise the country’s “sun and surf” profile, boost annual revenues to Dh140bn (€12.43bn),…

Interview

OBG talks to Lahcen Haddad, Minister of Tourism
OBG
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Interview:Lahcen Haddad How well has the Moroccan tourism sector weathered the economic downturn in Europe? LAHCEN HADDAD: In terms of indicators, 2013 was satisfactory, with up to Dh19bn (€1.69bn) in investment, 20,000 new jobs and an additional 13,000 trained personnel. Tourism activity maintained a good performance in spite of the turbulent global economy and an unsteady geopolitical context. For the most part, this was thanks to solid foundations alongside targeted marketing and promotional…

Interview

OBG talks to Lahcen Haddad, Minister of Tourism
OBG
plus

Interview:Lahcen Haddad How well has the Moroccan tourism sector weathered the economic downturn in Europe? LAHCEN HADDAD: In terms of indicators, 2013 was satisfactory, with up to Dh19bn (€1.69bn) in investment, 20,000 new jobs and an additional 13,000 trained personnel. Tourism activity maintained a good performance in spite of the turbulent global economy and an unsteady geopolitical context. For the most part, this was thanks to solid foundations alongside targeted marketing and promotional…

Analysis

Gaining speed: Several major public-private partnerships will stimulate the sector
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The tourism sector has grown at a steady pace in recent years, and with the Ministry of Tourism’s aim of increasing the number of arrivals to 20m by 2020 under the Vision 2020 plan, considerable investment in accommodation and associated public infrastructure is required. The 20m target will require a total bed capacity of 375,000. By way of comparison, capacity at the end of 2013 stood at more than 207,500 beds, according to the ministry. In order to achieve this, the Ministry of Tourism and the Moroccan Agency for Tourism Development (Société Marocaine d’Ingénierie Touristique, SMIT) have undertaken a campaign to bring the private…

Analysis

Eco emphasis: Promoting sustainable development in less-visited areas
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One of the focal points of Morocco’s ambitious Vision 2020 programme is sustainable tourism. The country has no shortage of natural features to leverage as tourism attractions, and it also boasts 10 national parks and 160 sites of biological and ecological importance. The ecotourism segment, however, remains at a nascent stage and represents only a small part of the overall tourism industry. The drive for ecotourism aims not only to improve niche-specific attractions and boost spending, but also to bring tourists to more remote and less-visited areas, allowing rural regions to benefit from the inflow of visitors and encouraging a rise in…

Analysis

A stronger offering: Partnerships to stimulate tourism projects in a number of cities
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A number of projects to be jointly carried out with four Gulf countries were unveiled in early May 2014 by the Moroccan minister of tourism, Lahcen Haddad, at two major tourism events in Dubai, the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference and the Arabian Travel Market. Under its Vision 2020, Morocco aspires to become one of the top 20 tourist destinations by 2020. The strategy includes developing the sector to attract 20m visitors, boosting revenues to Dh140bn (€12.4bn) and expanding hotel bed capacity to 375,000 by the end of the decade. Plans to reach these goals include the construction of new tourism facilities and infrastructure. According…