Rabat- Marrakech recorded over 2.4 million tourist arrivals in the period from January to November in addition to 2.6 million scheduled hotel stays through the end of 2018, according to Morocco’s Tourism Observatory.
Overnight stays in Marrakech throughout the 11-month period reached 7.2 million. The observatory expects the number of overnight stays to rise to 8 million by the end of the year, especially with the New Year holiday.
Marrakech attracted increasing numbers of tourists from France, up 14 percent; Germany, up 25 percent; and Spain, up 52 percent. But Marrakech attracted even more dramatic increases in tourists from China and Eastern Europe, rising 100 to 300 percent.
Chinese tourist arrivals increased overall in Morocco from just 10,000 in 2015 to nearly 200,000 people this year, according to Minister of Tourism Mohammed Sajid.
Read Also: Tourism Minister: Morocco Attracted 200,000 Chinese Tourists in 2018
In a statement to state-owned agency Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), the president of the Regional Tourism Council (CRT), Abderrahim Bentbib, said that the rise in tourist arrivals in Marrakech this year can be owed to the addition of 22 flights from Germany, Switzerland, and France to the city.
Tourists from countries such as Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic are now flocking to Morocco.
The same statement foresees that 2019 will also be a promising year for tourism in the city and Morocco in general.
Marrakech is not the only city that enjoyed an increase in tourist arrivals.
Agadir, a popular Moroccan coastal city, recorded over 4.5 million overnight stays by tourists in the period between January and October 2018.
The figure is up from 4 million overnights during the same period in 2017, increasing by 13 percent.
