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Rabat – A total of eight million tourists visited Morocco between January and August 2017, an increase of 10.4 percent compared to the same period in 2016, according to the Tourism Observatory.
The number of foreign tourists grew by 13.1 percent, while arrivals of Moroccans living abroad increased by 8.1 percent, said the Observatory in its report on national tourism statistics for the month of August.
The main tourism markets for Morocco experienced an increase in arrivals during the same period as well. Particularly, Germany increased 14Â percent, Holland by 10 percent, Â Spain by 10percent, France by 8percent, and Belgium by 8percent.
Emerging tourism markets maintained their upward trend with a 315 percent increase for China, Â 43 percent for Japan, 41 percent for South Korea, 32percent for the United States, and a 52 percent increase for Brazil, showed the Observatory.
This upward trend was also observed in tourists’ overnight stays in classified accommodation establishments, which increased by 15 percent, at 19percent for non-resident tourists and an 8 percent increase for residents, compared with the end of August 2016.
The two tourist attractions, Marrakech and Agadir, alone accounted for 60 percent of total overnight stays in the first eight months of the current year. Marrakech increased 18 percent and Agadir increased 12 percent.
Other tourist destinations in Morocco also performed well, especially Fez and Tangier, with increases of 36 percent for the spiritual city and 26 percent for the northern city.
The Observatory added that revenues from non-resident tourism in Morocco amounted to nearly MAD 46.8 billion at the end of August, compared with MAD 44.5 billion a year earlier, which accounted for an increase of 5percent.
The report concludes that in August alone, the number of tourist arrivals at border crossings increased by 21 percent compared to 2016.
