Tourism

Despite its relative stability, the kingdom’s tourism sector experienced a number of difficulties over the past two years as the region has struggled with political unrest. However, its strength and speedy recovery has shown just how important tourism is to the Moroccan economy, with the country attracting 9.38m visitors in 2012. Oversight of the sector is set to be reorganised, with management increasingly devolved to regional authorities. Plans to focus on niche segments such as ecotourism and adventure tourism, as well as continued investment for beach resorts as part of Plan Azur, should help develop rural parts of the country and will diversify the sector’s offerings. This chapter includes interviews with Lahcen Haddad, Minister of Tourism; and Yann Caillère, President and COO, Accor Group.