After the sluggishness of the “Covid years”, Moroccan tourism is picking up, and continuing its ascent towards its pre-pandemic levels. This is how arrivals in June 2022 exceeded those in the same period of 2021 by 235%.
The supervisory department even believes that the accelerated pace of recovery portends an overperformance of 2019 for the summer period.
The sector thus maintains its steady pace across all aggregators, including the number of tourist arrivals. The month of June recorded more than 1,140,000 tourist arrivals, a performance exceeding that of June 2019, having experienced the arrival of 1,092,000 (+5%).
This growth is more accentuated compared to the same period of 2021 to reach 235%.
Moroccans residing abroad contributed strongly to this growth, with the arrival of 620,000 MREs in June, i.e. a growth of 27% compared to June 2019. And it is expected that these arrivals will peak during July. and next August.
Several factors will contribute to the acceleration of this recovery, including the strengthening of air capacity which exceeds that of 2019, the various partnerships signed with tour operators to secure a large number of arrivals and the various measures undertaken in favor of attractiveness of the destination, such as the launch of the electronic visa from July 10, and whose impacts will be felt on medium-term arrivals to the Kingdom.
Already last May, the minister in charge of the sector, Fatim-Zahra Ammor, blithely announced before the representatives of the Nation that the Kingdom had received some 801,179 tourists, i.e. more than 11% compared to the same period of the 2019 financial year. (689.207) which nevertheless happened to be a reference year.
“This ratioshe congratulated herself, is a positive indicator of the recovery of the tourism sector while waiting to register a greater number during this summer period“.
The Minister also indicated that tourist receipts in foreign currency reached, according to preliminary figures, 20 billion dirhams (MMDH) for the first five months of this year, up 173% compared to 2021.
These revenues show a recovery rate of 71% compared to 2019, she underlined, noting that during the same period, the number of tourist arrivals in Morocco was multiplied by 4.5 compared to 2021, to reach 2, 3 million tourists, i.e. a recovery rate of 52% compared to 2019.
At the regional level, the number of overnight stays in tourist accommodation establishments has tripled in Marrakech and Agadir and doubled in several other destinations such as Tangier, Errachidia, Dakhla, Rabat and Casablanca, supported the minister, who made a point of specifying that A 100% overnight recovery rate was recorded in Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, 86% in Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, 76% in Béni Mellal-Khénifra and l’Oriental and 66% in the Tangier-Tétouan region -Al Hoceima.
After two difficult summers, the 2022 season marks the return of tourists and MREs to the country.
Operation Marhaba, an important relay for the summer season, has been in full swing for a month now. The latest figures already show more than 400,000 Moroccans residing abroad who have been able to return, while more than 100,000 vehicles have already transited between the two countries.
The number of citizens and cars has thus increased by 48% and 62% respectively, compared to data from 2019, the last year in which Moroccans were able to cross the Spanish borders to reach their homes.
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