Rabat – A total of 9.7 million tourists visited Morocco between January and October 2017, up 9 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, according to statistics released by Tourism Observatory covering the first ten months of 2017.
The number of foreign tourists grew by 14 percent, while arrivals of Moroccan expatriates visiting their homeland jumped 5 percent, the ministry said.
This rise affected the main issuing markets, with an increase of 14 percent in German tourists, 8 percent in Dutch tourists, 7 percent in French tourists.
As for emerging tourism markets for Morocco, they maintain their upward trend, with China recording a 20.3 percent increase, while Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Brazil posted respective increases of 40 percent, 33 percent, 30 percent, and 51 percent.
Regarding the total nights spent in classified tourist accommodation establishments, they recorded a 15 percent increase during the first 10 months of 2017.
Morocco’s main tourist hubs, Marrakesh and Agadir, generated alone 60 percent of total overnight stays at the end of May, up by 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
Other destinations showed the highest increase in tourist arrivals, especially in Fez and Tangier with a growth of 37 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
The occupancy rate until the end of October 2017 reached 44 percent, up 4 points over the same period last year.
Moreover, revenues generated by tourism activity by non-residents in Morocco amounted to MAD 59.2 billion by the end of October 2017, compared to MAD 56.1 billion a year earlier.
During the month of October, the number of tourist arrivals at the border posts increased by 15 percent compared to the same month of 2016.
