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Improved connectivity is a key pillar of Morocco’s economic development strategy. The strategic decision to locate special economic zones close to the main intercontinental ports has boosted activity, and there are calls to develop additional zones beside the country’s airports. Moreover, internally, road and rail links can improve the business environment by reducing transport costs and spreading economic development nationwide. Upgrades will prove particularly effective in bringing investment to more isolated regions. With the kingdom’s beneficial location on the crossroads between Africa and Europe, Morocco is emerging as a continental transport and logistics hub.

Supported by housing demand and infrastructure plans, Morocco’s construction companies have been able to maintain steady performances despite the negative effects of a host of local and international factors. The economic downturn in Europe and regional instability have dampened investment flows to the sector in recent years, while lower levels of credit to the real estate industry from banks have posed additional challenges for mixed-use projects. The Moroccan real estate sector has seen a steady recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. While high-end housing and luxury developments took a hit, prices for quality developments have remained steady as foreigners and Moroccans living abroad continue to look to real estate as a secure investment with long-term prospects. The government has pushed to increase the number of affordable homes through a series of incentives for developers, while commercial and office space developments have become increasingly important. This chapter contains interviews with Tarafa Marouane, Chairman, SOMED Group; and Selma Belkhayat, Managing Director, Aswaq Management Services Morocco.

As operators and mobile users adopt new forms of mobile communications, the kingdom’s telecoms market is progressively moving away from the traditional voice-based business model. This is leading to new challenges in terms of regulation and market competition, but is also setting the stage for a new phase, wherein data forms a critical part of telecoms services. Despite slower growth, the industry is an important component of the economy, and not merely because of its trickle-down impact on other sectors. Morocco’s efforts to develop the ICT sector have produced noticeable results, and growing ICT and telecoms usage have allowed companies to create employment and make a larger contribution to exports. Government policy has similarly focused on increasing the role of ICT to bridge existing gaps between the state and citizens by establishing a series of e-government policies that have paved the way for business and citizens alike to interact with the state. However, improved service quality in rural areas is required for the sector to unlock further growth and expansion.

As operators and mobile users adopt new forms of mobile communications, the kingdom’s telecoms market is progressively moving away from the traditional voice-based business model. This is leading to new challenges in terms of regulation and market competition, but is also setting the stage for a new phase, wherein data forms a critical part of telecoms services. Despite slower growth, the industry is an important component of the economy, and not merely because of its trickle-down impact on other sectors. Morocco’s efforts to develop the ICT sector have produced noticeable results, and growing ICT and telecoms usage have allowed companies to create employment and make a larger contribution to exports. Government policy has similarly focused on increasing the role of ICT to bridge existing gaps between the state and citizens by establishing a series of e-government policies that have paved the way for business and citizens alike to interact with the state. However, improved service quality in rural areas is required for the sector to unlock further growth and expansion.

Contributing 8.1% to GDP and accounting for 7.1% of employment in 2016, tourism holds an important place in Morocco’s economy, with 2017 garnering strong results. Despite having faced some challenges, the country has a number of favourable factors to build upon, such as its political stability, new infrastructure developments and multiplying air connections. While the sector is still far from achieving its 2020 target of 20m arrivals, the latest figures signal an uptick in activity, demonstrated by growing inflows, an increasing number of overnight stays and new infrastructure. Even with these successes, however, sector leaders have identified weaker areas to focus on, such as relatively low average occupancy rates. In the meantime, Morocco’s niche tourism segments – notably seaside, business, and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions – are seeing marked progress, thanks to proactive source market diversification and targeted travel promotions.

In the late 1990s King Mohammed VI chose to use Tangiers as a catalyst for the transformation of the north by turning the historically sidelined region into a motor of the national economy. In the past decade, the region has seen the launch of a new economic development plan, leveraging Tangier’s strategic location at the Strait of Gibraltar. At the confluence of these key maritime routes is the cornerstone of the city’s multi-sector development strategy: the Tanger-Med port complex, which unleashed the region economic potential. Ongoing projects such as the Mohammed VI Tech City bode well for the future of the region, which is well positioned to attract further global players in increasingly complex, technology-intensive industries. One of Tangiers’ key challenges for the future will be the extension of the benefits from increased foreign direct investment to the rest of the region, including more isolated areas such as Al Hoceima.