With the tourism sector gradually recovering from the COVID hiatus since international travel resumed in February, Morocco welcomed 3.4 million foreign tourists in the first six months of 2022.
This information was made available by Minister of Tourism Fatim-Zahra Ammor.
According to Morocco World News, the minister noted that the number has quadrupled compared to the same period in 2021, representing 63% of the number of arrivals recorded in 2019. 1.14 million tourists visited Morocco in June 2021, representing an increase of 5% compared to 2019.
Foreign exchange revenues recorded during the first five months of 2022 increased to MAD 20 billion ($1.94 billion), reflecting an increase of 173% compared to 2021, and a recovery rate of 71 % compared to 2019. Ammor also announced that her ministry is going to increase the emergency plan aid to meet the requirements of foreign and Moroccan customers. The additional upgrade will be in addition to the MAD 2 billion ($194.9 million) Morocco announced earlier this year to help mitigate the sector’s crisis.
The ministry’s priority is also to strengthen air connectivity to develop international and national tourism, Ammor added. To that, she explained, the ministry seeks to increase collaboration with international tour operators to promote Morocco as an ideal destination for leisure and business tips. The plan also covers the development of cultural, natural, and ecological tourism, the minister pointed out, adding that Morocco seeks to further promote domestic tourism to increase the sector’s revenues and contribution to the Moroccan economy.
As local authorities in different cities across Morocco join in efforts to promote domestic tourism, surveys have shown that 51% of Moroccans prefer seaside tourism, 58% prefer to travel during school holidays, 60% prefer to travel with family, while 72% look at the prices of different tourist offers to choose their holiday destination.
