Morocco Tourism Hits Record High Despite Decline in German Visitors

According to L’Économiste, the number of German tourists arriving in Morocco in 2023 fell by 32% compared to 2019, as did the number of Dutch (−20%), Belgian (−17%), Italian (−5%) and American (−5%) tourists. The biggest drop was noted among Chinese tourists (−62%), notes the specialized daily, noting that conversely, the number of Spanish and British visitors increased by 48% and 23% respectively. The figures remained stable for French tourists who visited the kingdom during the period.

Zoubir Bouhoute, an expert specializing in the tourism sector, explains that the decline in the number of German tourists has led to a drop of more than 50% in overnight stays, from 1,746,000 in 2019 to 864,000 in 2023, while the trend was on the rise between 2013 and 2019, with an increase of 74%. "If we compare the figure recorded between 2013 and 2019, we notice that it largely exceeds the figures recorded in other global markets, with an increase in the number of French visitors of 12%, Spaniards of 29%, British of 37%, Italians of 50% and Dutch of 14%, which confirms the importance of the German market before the Covid-19 pandemic," he details in an interview with Al3omk.

The expert justifies this sharp decline by the closure of borders due to the Covid-19 health crisis, also noting the gradual return of German tourists to Morocco with around 864,000 overnight stays in 2023, compared to around 428,000 in 2022. The kingdom could regain the pre-Covid figures by 2025, if a good strategy for promoting Moroccan tourism to the German market is implemented, said Bouhoute, stressing the need to open direct lines between Germany and the Moroccan cities preferred by German tourists, including Agadir and Essaouira.