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Marrakech – Morocco has been ranked the second most prepared African destination for Chinese tourists, according to the 2026 China Ready Index released at World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town this week. Egypt secured the top spot. Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa rounded out the top five.
The China Ready Index is a global benchmarking system developed by CBISN. It scores destinations across six pillars: safety and service quality, visas and connectivity, destination experience and infrastructure, implementation of the China Ready Programme, marketing and Chinese promotion, and arrivals and conversions. The index now covers 55 countries across six continents.
The rankings were announced during a high-level panel moderated by Marcus Lee, CEO of China Travel Online and founder of the China Ready Programme. The session drew one of the highest delegate turnouts at WTM Africa 2026, with the room filled to capacity and some attendees left standing.
The Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) has set a target of attracting 500,000 Chinese tourists in 2026 and one million by 2030, up from nearly 200,000 who visited in the first eight months of 2025 alone.
Morocco began the process to obtain the China Ready certification in May 2025, becoming the first North African destination to pursue the label, and has since expanded air connectivity with the launch of a direct Shanghai-Casablanca route operated by China Eastern Airlines.
The kingdom welcomed 19.8 million international tourists in 2025, and it now aims to surpass 26 million by 2030. Official figures indicate the Asian market forms a central pillar of the country’s diversification strategy ahead of co-hosting the FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
The scale of the opportunity is considerable. China recorded 155 million outbound tourists before the pandemic. Only 10% of its 1.4 billion population holds a passport. China’s outbound travel sector is projected to reach 200 million travelers annually by 2028.
Read also: Morocco Targets 80,000 Indian Tourists as 2025 Records Peak Arrivals
The panel featured Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Tourism Tongai Mafidi Mnangagwa, Tanzania Tourism Board Director General Ephraim Balozi Mafuru, Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy, Botswana Tourism Organisation’s Goabaone Taylor, and Serena Hotels CEO Ashish Sharma.
Tanzania presented one of the most concrete results. A China-specific campaign developed in Mandarin helped grow Chinese arrivals from 33,000 to over 82,000 in two years. Zimbabwe reported a 400% increase, with Chinese arrivals rising from 10,000 to 50,000 following its early adoption of the China Ready Programme.
Cape Town’s Duminy pointed to long-haul distance and limited direct flights as the city’s primary challenges. He cited the Cape Town Air Access Initiative, alongside new digital tools and an Electronic Travel Authorization system, as key steps forward. Botswana’s Taylor said the country’s high-value, low-volume tourism model is well aligned with the premium Chinese segment.
Serena Hotels’ Sharma stressed the importance of cultural understanding across the full customer journey, from booking to departure. Lee offered a practical illustration: in China, slippers are standard in hotels from two-star upward.
In South Africa, guests often have to request them. Lee also noted that many Chinese travelers still view Africa as a single destination, urging tourism boards to differentiate their offerings.
The panel session was followed by a sold-out China Ready Workshop, the first staged in South Africa. The training program is structured across three parts running consecutively at WTM Africa from 2026 to 2028. Participants earn six CPD credits per session.
The full top 15 ranking places Mauritius sixth, followed by Rwanda, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Ghana, Uganda, and Tunisia.
