New York - In its latest report, the World Economic Forum put Morocco in the 9th position in the Travel and Tourism competitiveness index in the Middle East and North Africa Region. In comparison with the previous report, Morocco made a significant stride. In the 2012 edition, it was ranked 78th at the global level.
New York – In its latest report, the World Economic Forum put Morocco in the 9th position in the Travel and Tourism competitiveness index in the Middle East and North Africa Region. In comparison with the previous report, Morocco made a significant stride. In the 2012 edition, it was ranked 78th at the global level.
The United Arab Emirate tops the list of the MENA region followed by Qatar, Israel, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Morocco. Egypt Ranked 10th due to the continuing turmoil that hits its tourism sector.
On the other hand, Morocco ranked 22nd worldwide in terms of World Heritage cultural sites. Morocco is home to a number of cities, which are considered a World Heritage by the UNESCO. The North African country boasts four cities considered World Heritage, namely, Fez, Rabat, Meknes and Marrakesh, which are commonly called the imperial cities of the Kingdom.
“The country has improved in almost all areas of the Index, receiving good evaluations for aspects of its cultural resources, and is notably ranked 22nd for its many World Heritage cultural sites,” the report says.
The World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) highlighted the travel and tourism industry of 140 economies around the world based on the progress and reform in areas related to the service industry such as health care, education, transportation and infrastructure.
“The TTCI represents our best efforts to capture the complex phenomenon of T&T competitiveness, demonstrating that a whole array of reforms and improvements in different areas are required for improving the T&T competitiveness of nations,” the report says.
As pointed out by the report, “Morocco’s tourism sector has rebounded after the initial instability in the region that followed the Arab Spring.”
The report also highlights the efforts being made by Morocco in order to develop travel and tourism sector in a sustainable way.
However, among the areas where Morocco still has a long way to go before catching up with other big tourist destination are the health, education, transport and tourism infrastructure, human resources training and security sector.
“In order to improve the industry’s competitiveness further, it would be necessary to progress on some of its long-standing shortcomings, such as health and hygiene (104th) and education and training (96th), as well as making additional improvements to the transport and tourism infrastructure. Safety and security also remain an area of concern,” concludes the report.
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