Tourism: Dakhla to Exceed 6,000 Hotel Bed Capacity by 2023

Dakhla is quickly developing as a hotspot for tourists and tourism-related investment, promising to exceed a 6,000 bed capacity by the end of 2023.

Rabat – Dakhla is quickly developing as a hotspot for tourists and tourism-related investment, promising to exceed a 6,000 bed capacity by the end of 2023.

Amid infrastructural and economic development in Morocco’s southern provinces, Dakhla has experienced a tourist boom in recent years according to Mohamed Salem Boudija, the regional director of tourism for the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region.

Numbers of tourist arrivals in the city have grown from 5,231 in 2006 to 38,700 in 2019, Boudija told the Moroccan news outlet Le360. He also noted the exponential rise in overnight stays, which grew from 18,650 to 162,000 in the same time period.

Dakha’s investment boom has made the city a host to 43 hotels totaling 1,825 bed capacity. The projected capacity of 6,000 beds by the end of 2023 is the result of 22 new projects under construction in the city, reflecting an investment of $54.1 million (MAD 486 million), according to Boudija.

He also mentioned 16 other projects that are being planned under the Integrated Regional Development Plan – an investment of approximately $9.9 million (MAD 89 million).

Dakhla’s rapidly growing tourism sector runs parallel to broader investment in the area, with the hopes of turning it into an economic hub and a gateway to Africa. Moroccan state media reported the government’s plans to turn the El Guerguerat border and the Bir Gandouz area into trading zones by injecting $18 million (MAD 160 million) of investment.

The government has already launched a call for tenders for a variety of projects aiming to attract investors. Most of the projects are concerned with building up the region’s infrastructure through both domestic and foreign investments.

In response to the expected surge in tourists in Dakhla, last year Morocco inaugurated a Specialized Institute of Hospitality and Tourism (ISHT) in the city, at a cost of $4.78 million (MAD 42.5 million). It will offer 11 specialized courses for up to 1,100 students a year, with a variety of courses including hotel management, cooking, and catering.