Morocco’s Tourist Boom Masks Decline in International Visitors, Lawmaker Claims

In a written question addressed to the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, Social and Solidarity Economy, the parliamentarian pointed out that this increase in arrivals is mainly due to Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) who account for 51% of the total, compared to 49% for international tourists. In 2019, the trend was rather the opposite, with a share of 55% for foreign tourists and 45% for MREs, she recalled.

This situation has had a negative impact on tourist nights, specified the PJD deputy, who also noted a 50% decrease in the number of German, Chinese and Japanese tourists in the kingdom in terms of overnight stays compared to 2019.

Fatima Zahra Bata considers that Morocco has also not achieved good performance in terms of attracting foreign currency for the tourism sector, noting a 12% increase for the kingdom compared to 40% for global tourism in 2023.

Based on these data, the parliamentarian concludes that Morocco’s performance in international tourism has remained very weak. According to her, the Ministry of Tourism has failed to attract foreign tourists to the kingdom. This is why she asked to know the measures this department intends to take to further attract international tourists this year.