Marrakech Tourism Sees 8% Rise in Overnight Stays, But Challenges Remain

According to data from the Tourism Observatory, the number of overnight stays in classified tourist accommodation establishments reached 5.5 million nights at the end of last July, compared to 5.1 million nights for the same period in 2023. As for the occupancy rate in these establishments, it reached 69% during the first seven months of this year, compared to 66% for the same period in 2023. This improvement is "the natural result of the integrated efforts between the different actors," say the professionals. This increase is the result of "the efforts made by the Ministry of Tourism, Crafts, Social and Solidarity Economy as well as the Moroccan National Tourist Office," said Ahmed Bennani, president of the Regional Association of the Hotel Industry of Marrakech-Safi, to Hespress. "This evolution is important, although the figures do not take into account the overnight stays in the informal sector in Marrakech, otherwise we would be facing an abundant supply and a continuous demand," he estimated.

"The increase in overnight stays is the natural result of the increase in direct air links to the ochre city; as well as the significant increase in demand recorded in Morocco due to the welcome, and it is natural that the ochre city takes a large share of it, given that it represents the most important tourist offer in the Kingdom," said Mustapha Amalik, hotelier and secretary general of the Regional Tourism Council of Marrakech. According to him, this increase in the number of overnight stays recorded in tourist accommodation establishments will continue to grow, but slightly. This "will go through strengthening the visibility of Marrakech as a strong destination capable of hosting international meetings and conferences, which attract tens of thousands of participants," he assured.

"The development of tourist overnight stays in the tourist capital requires an opening to all available forms of tourism, including conference tourism and better promotion of the Moroccan destination via Marrakech, because the latter has qualified and classified hotels and establishments more than in other tourist cities, but it needs a space capable of hosting these conferences; to avoid the construction of large tents in the Bab Ighli area in the tourist region of Agdal," added Amalik. Other efforts must also be made to preserve the improvement in tourist accommodation in the ochre city. This includes finding a solution to a problem facing the city: the lack of attendance at the beginning of the week. "This is the current challenge on the agenda of professional, official, tourism promoters and hotel professional organizations in the region; namely to fill the void in the middle of the week, a challenge that must be met," Bennani confided.

The president of the Regional Association of the Hotel Industry of Marrakech-Safi finds the solution. "Conference and business tourism has shown that all days of the week can see an influx, as was the case when hosting the ’COP22’ Conference of the Parties, as well as events such as those of the World Bank, etc.," he said. For him, it is necessary "to accelerate the construction of a conference center and an exhibition center in the ochre city in order to improve our positioning to host international events". He also called for "rehabilitating hotel accommodation establishments that are currently in the shadows, in order to enhance their services and allow the State to benefit from them through taxes and to account for overnight stays by classifying them".