Morocco looks to new markets to boost stagnant tourism

Morocco's key tourism sector barely grew last year amid security challenges, but operators are hoping Chinese and Russian visitors will boost their fortunes in the coming years. While political turmoil and jihadist attacks have battered the sector in Egypt and Tunisia, Morocco registered 10 million visitors last year, according to the Moroccan Tourism Observatory.
That was a barely perceptible rise of 1.5 percent from 2015, it said. But hoteliers in the narrow streets of the capital Rabat's old city were cautiously positive. "Last year was better than 2015. And the first two months of 2017 augured an even better year," said Hanane, manager of a local guesthouse. Tourists are easy to spot wandering through Rabat's old city with its craft stalls, Andalusian-style houses and a 12th-century kasbah overlooking the Atlantic.
But while tourism revenues rose 3.4 percent to $6.3 billion (5.9 billion euros) in 2016, visitor arrivals to Morocco have fallen far short of an ambitious official target of 20 million per year by 2020. A growing number of visits by Moroccans who live abroad - counted as tourists when they come home - accounted for much of the sector's buoyancy. Foreign visitor arrivals last year were down by 0.9 percent.
Karim, owner of a travel agency in commercial capital Casablanca, said more work was needed to drum up new business. "The situation is pushing us to look for new markets outside Europe," he said. "But overall, it can be said that there was a slight recovery in 2016." Authorities are hoping for an influx of Russian and Chinese tourists, who currently account for just one percent of total visitors.
That is far behind the French, who make up almost a third of arrivals - a figure that includes many of Moroccan origin. "Europeans still top the list, but the number of Chinese visitors is growing," Hanane said. "Since visas for the Chinese were abolished in June, a door has been opened." Tourism remains a vital pillar of the Moroccan economy and the country's second biggest employer, after agriculture.