Casablanca – An increasing number of Moroccans solicit travel agencies to plan their vacations.
Domestic tourism in Morocco makes up 28% of the total revenues of tourism while tourism professionals aim to reach 40% by 2015, which represents the international norm for this sector.
In some European countries like France, domestic tourism reaches 50% of tourism sales.
Domestic tourism has long been seen as a safety valve for professionals in case the number of tourists drops suddenly. Indeed, more Moroccans from the middle class turn to travel agencies for one week stay in cities like Agadir, Marrakesh and Saadia as reported by the Moroccan weekly La Vie Eco.
According to a study conducted by the National Federation of Tourism (FNT), domestic tourism sales reached 26, 3% of the total revenues of tourism in 2011, but its performance jumped to 28% during the current year.
The FNT suggests a number of measures to boost the performance of domestic tourism, including conventions with transport companies like Royal Air Maroc and the National Office of Railways (ONCF).
Moroccan travel agencies capitalize more on domestic audiences through advertising campaigns on the net. Mr. Fouzi Zemrani, a tourism professional, says that the website Kounouz Bladi provides a valuable advertising platform for travel agencies and hotels.
Mr. Fouzi explains that Moroccans realize now that they can have up to 15% discount on travel packages through travel agencies. More importantly they can have an interlocutor in case they are dissatisfied with the service.
Indeed, domestic tourism represents a juvenile and promising sector for tourism professionals especially that it has the potential to compensate for the flops of traditional tourism.
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