Report: 2030 World Cup Expected to Boost Morocco’s Economy by $1.2 Billion

Doha – A recent report by Valoris Securities, a financial analysis and brokerage firm in the Moroccan stock market, has revealed that hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal could inject $1.2 billion into Morocco’s economy.

The report comes after FIFA announced last October that it had accepted the joint bid from the three countries, as it was the only proposal submitted to host the world’s biggest football event.

According to the report, if Morocco hosts one-third of the total 104 matches, it could add between $850 million and $1.2 billion to its economy, with each match contributing an estimated $25 million to $37.5 million.

However, it is unclear whether the report refers specifically to the economic impact in the year when the World Cup will take place, or if it also accounts for potential benefits in the years following the event.

In preparation for hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup, Morocco plans to upgrade six football stadiums and build a new one with a capacity exceeding 100,000 spectators, at a total cost of around MAD 20.5 billion ($2 billion).

The announcement of the World Cup hosting has already spurred investment projects in the kingdom by local and foreign companies seeking to benefit from the incentives provided by the new Investment Charter, which offers up to 30% of the total investment, Asharq Business quoted Zoubir Bouhout, an expert in the tourism sector, as saying.

The Moroccan government has pledged to provide financial incentives to investors in the infrastructure, tourism, industry, health, and water sectors, aiming to increase the private sector’s share from one-third currently to two-thirds by 2035.

The country’s tourism sector is expected to increase its accommodation capacity by 40,000 rooms, reaching a total of 330,000 hotel rooms by 2026, according to the action plan of the Société Marocaine d’Ingénierie Touristique (SMIT), the government’s tourism engineering company, to meet the anticipated demand.

Last year, Morocco welcomed a record 14.5 million tourists, a 33% increase compared to 2019, generating revenues of 115 billion dirhams ($10.5 billion), which helped support the country’s foreign currency reserves alongside exports and remittances from Moroccans living abroad.

Bouhout emphasized to Asharq Business that hosting the World Cup “will have the greatest positive impact on the tourism sector in particular,” noting that the previous edition in 2022 saw Qatar receive around 1.4 million tourists from various countries. He added, “World Cup tourists tend to stay longer in the host country, which will have a significant impact on hotel occupancy rates, leading to more job opportunities and higher foreign currency revenues.”

Morocco has adopted a roadmap for the tourism sector to increase the number of tourists to 17.5 million by 2026 and surpass revenues of MAD 120 billion ($11.9 billion). The country has allocated a total of MAD 6.1 billion ($605 million) to diversify its tourism offerings and increase air connectivity, aiming to attract tourists from countries outside the European Union.