Coastal Morocco Braces for Tourism Boom: 80% Hotel Occupancy Expected This Summer

"Highly anticipated by professionals, the high summer season will primarily benefit the coastal regions of Agadir and Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima as well as the ochre city," says a federation president, member of the National Confederation of Tourism, to Médias24. The president of the CRT of Agadir-Souss Massa expects an increase in tourist arrivals compared to last summer. "Knowing that domestic tourists, who make up at least 50% of our accommodation activity between late July and late August, always book at the last minute, hotels should really perform during this period," explains Salaheddine Benhammane.

The official specifies that attendance will be average between June and July and reach a record level in August, with occupancy rates of around 60% in June, 68% in July and 84% in August. The eight hotels in the seaside resort of Taghazout will be fully booked between July and August, with an occupancy rate higher than that of the 85 classified hotels in Agadir, he added.

For her part, the president of the CRT of Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima indicated that the high season has started in her region since May. "The growth in arrival figures indeed shows that the summer season is no longer limited to the months of July and August, as it now begins in May," said Rkia Alaoui, who explains this change by the improvement of access roads and beaches, carried out by the local authorities to strengthen the connectivity and attractiveness of the destination and get out of seasonality. The official hopes for an average occupancy rate of 70%.

The president of the CRT of the Oriental, on the other hand, is less optimistic, stressing a very timid start to the season in June. "If, between early July and August 20, we should achieve an occupancy rate of at least 70% in the six hotels of the seaside resort of Saïdia, we must not forget that the Oriental [...] has 140 establishments with an occupancy rate that will not exceed 40%," details Youssef Zarki, who deplores the persistence of seasonality, despite the projects launched to enhance the region.

In Marrakech-Safi, attendance is average during this month of June, says the secretary general of the CRT of the region, assuring that "the serious things will start from the second week of July, which will see a rush of nationals and Moroccans living abroad until the end of August". Mustapha Amalik is confident that Marrakech will easily achieve its annual average occupancy rate of 73%. In the coming weeks, the large classified hotels in the ochre city as well as the "All inclusive" vacation clubs will be fully booked. This will not be the case for Dakhla, which should have an occupancy rate of less than 50%, and for Fès-Meknès, which also suffers from a glaring seasonality.