London - The partnership projects between Morocco and the Gulf countries should further strengthen growth and support the recovery of the tourism sector of the Kingdom, said London-based think tank, the Oxford Business Group (OBG) in a recent study.
London – The partnership projects between Morocco and the Gulf countries should further strengthen growth and support the recovery of the tourism sector of the Kingdom, said London-based think tank, the Oxford Business Group (OBG) in a recent study.
With the aim to increase investment from the Gulf countries, minister of tourism, Lahcen Haddad, unveiled last month at two events held in Dubai, a number of tourism and real estate projects to be implemented in partnership with four Gulf countries, said the OBG.
The integrated national strategy developed according to “Vision 2020”, which aims to make Morocco one of the top 20 tourist destinations in the world by 2020, aims to attract 20 million tourists per year, increase the sector’s revenue to 140 billion dirhams (12.1 billion euros) and bring hotel capacity to 375,000 beds, said the experts of the research firm.
To achieve these objectives, Morocco has already launched a number of projects to build new tourism facilities and infrastructure, such as hotels in the resort of Saidia, the expansion of highways, and the renovation of railway lines, the OBG noted.
According to statistics from the ministry of tourism, quoted by OBG, some 9,400 additional beds were created in 2013, bringing the total to 207,500 at the end of the year, a significant increase but still far from the 2020 target, according to the same source.