Chinese Entrepreneurs Dominate Morocco’s Growing Tourism Market, Sidelining Local Businesses

Buying riads in Chefchaouen, opening Chinese restaurants, controlling Chinese intermediaries, unfair competition... The Chinese control the Chinese tourist market in Morocco to the detriment of Moroccan travel agents.

Since the abolition, in June 2016, of visas for Chinese nationals, the flow of Chinese tourists to Morocco has been reinforced by a massive number of arrivals. In 2018, there were 180,000 of them visiting Morocco, compared to 10,000 in 2015, recalls La Vie éco. This increase, instead of benefiting Moroccan travel agents, has prompted the Chinese settled in the kingdom to impose themselves on the market.

"Before the visa waiver, I received 17 to 20 groups of Chinese tourists per month. Last year, I received 4 in total, including artists, TV teams and architects. The Chinese tourist is usually a big spender and does not negotiate package prices," laments Hayat Jabrane, a travel agent specializing in the Chinese market for twenty years. According to her, this market is weighed down by the informal sector. Worse, "the lack of control further encourages the rampant informality," she notes.

The paradox? The ONMT had signed a 3-year co-marketing agreement with the Chinese online agency C Trip, to strengthen the flow of Chinese tourists to Morocco.