Morocco’s Tourism Office Promotes ‘Light Tour’ in London

Rabat – Morocco’s National Tourist Office (ONMT) held today the second phase of its “Light Tour” today in London, introducing Morocco as a holiday destination for British travelers.

The three-days tour, which began yesterday in Paris and will finish in Thursday in New York, is meant to strengthen ONMT’s international campaign “Morocco: Land of Light.”

During London’s event, ONMT’s Director Adel El Fakir spoke before several tour operators, tourism professionals, airline managers, and policymakers about Morocco’s international campaign and the country’s position in the world market.

Morocco has been the first African destination for tourists for four consecutive years, El Fakir highlighted, adding that in 2019, the kingdom saw the arrival of 13 million tourists and assuring that “Morocco intends to maintain this position.”

Marrakech has been the most visited city on the continent, he said, stressing: “Morocco’s tourism offer is based on a thousand-year-old culture, paradisiacal coasts, an authentic society, warm human exchanges and extraordinary gastronomy.”

The North African kingdom is also an affordable destination because of its proximity to all European markets, El Fakir noted, with the UK being Morocco’s second largest tourism market. Nearly 600,000 Britons visited the North African country in 2019.

There is a growing demand for air travel to Morocco, El Fakir said, noting that the number of flights from the UK and Ireland to Morocco exceeded that of 2019 with six airlines flying between the two kingdoms.

Despite the negative effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the tourism sector, the ONMT director argued that the pandemic has allowed Morocco to well prepare for the future by developing its offers and preparing a new global campaign that will ensure a strong recovery of the industry.

El Fakir, alongside the presidents of Regional Tourism Councils and Moroccan tourism professionals, held business to business (B2B) meetings to secure new partnerships with British operators.

The “Light Tour” in London saw the presence of the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK Hakim Hajoui, as well as representatives of Moroccan companies and banks operating in the British capital.

The tour will continue on Thursday with a last stopover in New York, with an aim of attracting more tourists and foreign investors to the country to ensure the recovery of the tourism industry, which is a key sector for Morocco’s socio-economic development.