Morocco was able to recover 84% of tourists, compared to the figures achieved in 2019, indicated the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatim-Zahra Ammor, during the delicate session of oral questions. , last week in the House of Representatives.
The Kingdom records there, a great achievement through this significant tourist craze and the recovery of 84% of travelers, at a time when the global recovery rate does not exceed 65%. This represents 11 million visitors and 112% of tourist receipts in foreign currency at the end of November, worth approximately 81.7 billion dirhams. It’s comforting to see a sector regaining color after a period of constant suffering, Dame Covid having been there.
But it’s ancient history now, too, and in order to lay solid foundations for the sustainable development of tourism, the sector in all its departments and states, we would say, casts a wide net for the current exercise to start. with fanfare in Morocco. The ambition is to eye double-digit growth and an increase compared to last year. An upturn in perspective on which the airlines serving the Kingdom are surfing and which are constantly increasing their capacity to offer seats.
This is the case recently with EasyJet, lhe low-cost airline which has just signed a “historic” five-year agreement with the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT). It is said in the texts the forecasts of the doubling to 1.6 million seats per year of the number of seats offered to Morocco by the winter season 2027-2028.
This will be done from seven countries in the airports of which the company is based, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Portugal, EasyJet will serve and reinforce the lines of Agadir (7 connections), Essaouira from Bordeaux, Marrakech with 14 lines and Tangier, Rabat, Fez or Ouarzazate. It’s all good knowing in this that thehe year 2022 has already ended on a high note for this sector.
However, it should be recalled that internationally, air traffic in Morocco is constantly increasing, thus recording since the beginning of 2022 a total of 14,790,085 passengers welcomed at the airports of the Kingdom. By geographical distribution, Casablanca Mohammed V airport welcomed 759,360 passengers in the month of October alone through 6,084 flights, representing 90% of passenger air traffic and 80% of airport movements recorded during the month of October 2019 (year pre-pandemic baseline).
In 2022 and two months from the end, Casablanca Mohammed V airport recovered 71% of its traffic compared to the same period of 2019. This is also the case for the country’s other airports, according to the Office National des Aéroports (ONDA) especially the airports of the North and the East in sharp increase and which recorded recovery rates greater than or equal to 100%.
In short and to come back to tourism in Morocco, the premises for great general growth this year are real, so we can be confident of that. It is that the potentialities of reception are not lacking in Morocco in addition to have an extremely rich and varied tourist heritage. Morocco is located in a region of the world which is experiencing the highest level of tourism development with, in particular, all the countries of the Mediterranean. However, the tourist products offered by Morocco are largely complementary to those of European countries.