Morocco’s Tourism Revenues Reach Nearly $2 Billion in May

Rabat – New data reveals that Morocco’s tourism revenues in foreign currency reached MAD 20 billion ($1.99 billion) in the first five months of 2022.

Minister of Tourism Fatim-Zahra Ammor announced the new figure in a parliamentary session at the House of Representatives on Monday, saying that the new data represents a 173% increase compared to 2021.

The revenues also show a recovery rate of 71% compared to 2019, the minister explained.

Compared to 2021, the number of tourist arrivals in Morocco was multiplied by 4.5 in the first five months of this year.

With 2.3 million tourists having so far traveled to Morocco since the country lifted its COVID travel ban in February, the country’s tourism has now recovered by 52% compared to 2019.

The number of overnight stays in tourist accommodations tripled in Marrakech and Agadir, two of Morocco’s major tourist destinations.

The number of overnight stays in accommodation establishments doubled in several other Moroccan cities, including Tangier, Errachidia, Dakhla, Rabat, and Casablanca.

Significant overnight recovery rates were recorded in southern regions, including Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra (100%) and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab (86%).

Meanwhile, the recovery rate in overnight stays reached 76% in Beni Mellal-Khenifra and the Oriental regions, and 66% in the Tangier-Tetouan- Al Hoceima region.

Ammor attributed the development to the measures Morocco has adopted to manage the fallout of the COVID crisis, enabling the country to retain its tourism attractiveness and credibility — both with tourists and major stakeholders in the sector, including airline companies, travel agencies, and tourism authorities in third countries.

“Morocco is once again among the main destinations in the programs of international tour operators,” she said, recalling an aircraft occupancy rate of 75% at the end of May.

Ammor commended the efforts of the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) with airline companies, saying the office’s tireless promotion of Morocco’s tourism sector has put the country back on the global tourism map and made it possible for the North African Kingdom to be ready to receive more tourists than it did before 2019.

With the opening of new air routes and the increase of weekly flights in long-existing air routes, Morocco is set to welcome even more tourists by the end of this year and in the coming years, she concluded.