Egyptian Hotel Giant Pickalbatros Expands Footprint in Morocco with 4 New Acquisitions

Among the new establishments are the Club Le Sangho in Marrakech, the main tourist destination in the country, with its 349 rooms, as well as the Palmeraie Palace and the Golf Hôtel, totaling 640 rooms in the same city. The Palace des Roses in Agadir, with its 410 rooms, completes this acquisition. Some of these hotels will be renovated before opening their doors to visitors next year, he said to Al Sharq Business.

Pickalbatros, which has invested nearly $200 million in Morocco in recent years, now owns seven hotels in the country and continues to actively prospect, according to Abou Ali, who sees the kingdom as "fertile ground for tourism investment".

The Egyptian group, which already has 29 hotels in Egypt and Morocco, mainly located in the main tourist sites of the two countries, also has hotel projects under construction in Egypt, representing a capacity of 4,000 rooms.

This expansion strategy is part of a favorable context for Moroccan tourism. The sector generated nearly $6 billion in revenue in the first seven months of the year, up 3.67% year-on-year. The country is aiming for more than 15 million tourists by the end of the year, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

The Moroccan hotel sector attracted 4 billion dirhams ($409 million) in investments in the first half of the year, an increase of 7% year-on-year. Morocco, which will host the World Cup at the end of the decade with Spain and Portugal, is seeking to attract more investments in tourism, a key sector that represents about 7% of its GDP and contributes significantly to the inflow of foreign currency.