6.1 billion dirham road map aims to make tourism a vital part of the Moroccan economy
The signing of an agreement to begin the country’s strategic roadmap for the tourism sector from 2023 to 2026 took place in Rabat on Friday under the auspices of the head of state, Aziz Akhannouch.
With the ambitious objective of producing 120 billion in foreign exchange revenues, 200,000 new employment, and luring 17.5 million tourists by 2026, this project seeks to establish tourism as a key actor in the national economy.
The strategy, which has a 6.1 billion dirham dedicated budget over four years, aims to modernize the industry by introducing fresh, customer-focused experiences and by creating nine thematic sectors and five cross-functional ones.
Despite the difficult global economy, Morocco’s tourism sector had a strong year in 2022, bringing in almost 11 million tourists, or 84% more than in 2019, outpacing the global average of 63%.
In comparison to 2019, the industry also succeeded in recovering 116% more foreign currency travel receipts. During the crisis, the government’s emergency plan of 2 billion dirhams assisted tourism professionals and kept jobs.
The National Interministerial Commission for Tourism, chaired by the head of state and made up of the signatories, two national commissions, an airline commission, a “Supply/Demand” product commission, and twelve regional plan monitoring commissions headed by the governors of each region have all been established by the government to ensure the success of the ambitious roadmap.
The agreement was signed by Abdelouafi Laftit, Minister of the Interior, Fatima Zahra Amour, Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy, Mohamed Abdel Jalil, Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaïd, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, and Faouzi Lakjaa, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the budget, in addition to Hamid Ben Taher, President of the National Confederation of Tourism.