Taroudant, Morocco- The 2014 report released on March 19 by World Travel Tourism Council (WTTC) classified Morocco first tourist pole of the North African region.
Entitled “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2014 World,” the report included 184 countries and 24 geographic and economic regions in the world. It ranked Morocco first in the Maghreb and world’s 38th ahead of Algeria 111th and Tunisia 49th.
According to the WTTC report, the impact of tourism on the Moroccan economy is “undeniable and promising,” and the kingdom is doing well comparing to the countries of North Africa.
According to the same report, the total contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was US$ 19.7 billion (MAD 165.8 bn) which is 18.7% of total GDP, and the direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to GDP was US$ 9.0 billion (MAD 76.1 bn), which represents 8.6% of total GDP in 2013.
According to the same source, the tourism sector created 814,000 direct jobs in 2013 (7,6% of total employment), and is expected to create 864,000 in 2014.
“Visitor exports generated US$ 8.78 billion in 2013 which is 25.2% of total exports. This is expected to rise by 10.1% in 2014,” says the same report.
Despite regional troubles caused by the Arab Spring revolution, the kingdom, thanks to its stability, managed to place itself on the top tourism destination in North Africa.
Exotic cities, pristine mountains and vast desert are popular tourist destinations, but recently the kingdom became a destination for professional surfers, who found in the Moroccan coastlines ideal conditions for their sport.
In terms of Travel & Tourism, 2013 was a good year for nearly all the countries of the world.
David Scowsill, President and CEO of WTTC, says it has been another really good year for the sector but many governments’ lack of openness is restraining their country’s Travel & Tourism potential.
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed
