Casablanca Tourism Slumps as Other Moroccan Cities See Surge in Visitors

Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca recorded weak growth of only 1% in tourist arrivals at border posts, compared to 31% for Marrakech-Menara, 37% for Agadir Al Massira, 18% for Tanger Ibn Battouta, 8% for Fès Saïss, according to the latest statistics from the Tourism Observatory for the month of June. In terms of hotels, the situation is also critical. The volume of overnight stays in hotel establishments fell by 3% in Casablanca, while hotels in Marrakech recorded a 10% increase in overnight stays, those in Agadir 18%, Tangier 8%, Al Haouz 32%, Fez 5%, Essaouira 6%, etc.

Why this loss of tourist appeal of the economic capital. "Casablanca is a city break and Mice destination. A segment that is sluggish between the months of June, July and August," explains L’Économiste. The causes are numerous and varied. According to the daily, the lack of tourist appeal of Casablanca is linked to the lack of entertainment and leisure activities, the dilapidation of the hotel park, the majority of establishments having classic, obsolete and outdated offers, but also the lack of visibility and the delay in the opening of strategic infrastructures, in particular the Terminal/cruise quay, the new 2,000-seat amphitheater Fair Palace, the Grand Congress Palace, the Grand Theater, the Ain Sebaa Zoo, the Archaeological Museum.

Another cause: the many and endless road works launched in all directions and which cause daily inconveniences, as well as the ordeal of traffic jams in almost all the arteries of the city.