Tourism

Morocco is amongst the best-developed tourism markets in Africa, benefitting from its close proximity to Europe, a wide variety of landscapes and attractions, year-round warm weather in parts of the country, and a more stable political and security environment than some of its regional competitors. The years since 2016 have seen healthy rises in tourism arrivals, though over the longer term growth has failed to meet the authorities’ targets, prompting work that is currently under way to revise the national strategy for the sector’s development. New transport infrastructure such as the high-speed train line linking Casablanca to Tangier launched in late 2018, and the development of new hotels in the high-end segment highlight the confidence in the sector felt by private developers and the government. Moreover, growth in local tourism and rising numbers of visitors from emerging source markets further underscores the broadly positive outlook and potential of the industry. This chapter contains interviews with Mohammed Sajid, Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Crafts and Social Economy; and Laila Mechbal, CEO, Air Arabia Maroc.