A new report published by Skift Research on the state of travel in 2023 shows that Morocco is one of the most visited MENA countries in 2022, despite a slight decline in the rate of tourist arrivals compared to the pre-pandemic performance levels.
Morocco ranks fourth among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, receiving 10.9 million tourists coming from various destinations in 2022.
Morocco is making strides towards a full recovery from the adverse repercussions of Covid19 on global travel activities, in spite of the existence of weaknesses in demand and issues in supply.
Despite International travel in most regions still lags in 2019 levels. MENA is the only region to witness a complete recovery of international travel in the first quarter of 2023.
The United Arab Emirates garnered the highest traveller interest in 2022 with a significant increase in the number of tourist arrivals. Compared to the 21.6 million tourists registered in 2019, the UAE has made a significant improvement in travel performance as it welcomed 22.7 million tourists in 2022.
Syria, Tanzania, Mauritius, and Cape Verde are the least visited countries in the MENA regions, as the full recovery of these countries from the far-reaching impacts of Covid 19 remains a ways off.
According to the report, Spain, the United States and Turkey are the top global destinations for travellers, given the strong recovery they have seen in international arrivals in 2022.
17 out of 22 countries tracked by the Travel Health Index are part of the “100 Club” with an index score of 100 or higher as of June 2023. This indicates complete recovery to pre-pandemic performance levels. Of the five countries that have not reached full travel recovery, Hong Kong and Russia remain the slowest to bounce back.
Developing countries have grown as a share of total international trips, while over the same time, total travel volumes have doubled. This trend is likely to continue as trip shares equalise with population share over the long term. The centre of gravity in travel is expected to shift eastward and southward.
The revival of global travel in 2023 activities and the recovery of transcontinental movement are justified by the broader economic recuperation since the pandemic.
According to the data collected in the report, GDP is 20-30% higher than it was pre-pandemic while travel has only just recovered. This suggests that there is still potential for significant ‘catch-up’ growth in travel in every region of the world.