Rabat – Following the Atlas Lions’ stellar performance at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Morocco’s global perception has significantly improved at all levels, which has shed light on Moroccan values and promoted the country as a tourist destination, Dubai-based media intelligence provider CARMA showed in its latest report.
Published on April 3, the report indicated that Google search trends related to Morocco skyrocketed after the global tournament, rising by 273%, while Wikipedia page visits for Morocco increased by 453%. In addition, social media posts about the North African country increased by 764%, representing a total of 12.1 million posts.
“Despite the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 having ended a few months ago, new research shows its legacy is still very much being felt in Morocco,” the report said, celebrating Morocco’s growing popularity.
Morocco’s visibility in leading media outlets increased by 277%, with a reach of 6.4 billion during the tournament. More than 279,000 articles and posts were published about the Atlas Lions’ participation in the World Cup, 64% of which focused on Morocco “overcoming the odds,” added the report.
Meanwhile, 22% of articles and posts were about mothers and respect for women, while the rest focused on family and cultural values.
Tourism boost
Although Morocco has long been a go-to destination for tourists worldwide, the Moroccan national team’s World Cup heroics have upgraded the country’s tourist appeal.
The report highlighted Morocco’s increased popularity on tourism websites, indicating that visits to Morocco.com rose by 99%, while visitmorocco.com saw a 34% increase in visits. Meanwhile, visits to Tripadvisor Morocco have seen a 154% increase.
In January this year, weeks after the end of the Qatar World Cup, the Washington Post featured Morocco among the world’s top travel destinations for 2023. The American outlet stressed that the country was emerging as a “major travel hotspot” before the sporting event.
Read also: Tourism Flourishes as Morocco’s World Cup Gains Attract Visitors
“Morocco’s success was not only an underdog story, but also a testament to the unique values of the Moroccan team, such as family, love, resilience, and determination,” said CARMA’s Founder and CEO Mazen Mahawi.
He stressed that these values were “integral” to the Moroccan squad’s success in the Qatar World Cup and “serve as an inspiration to other nations.”
The report concluded that the Atlas Lions’ fairytale run in Qatar served as a “real opportunity” for Morocco to “capitalize on the positive momentum and the surge in tourism and business, boosting the beloved ‘Made in Morocco’ slogan and making the Kingdom a key tourist destination for all.”
Morocco’s inspiring underdog story at the 2022 World Cup is still widely celebrated across the world. The Moroccan squad produced a spectacular performance in Qatar, becoming the first Arab and African nation to reach the tournament’s semi-finals.
