Morocco Tourism Sectors Moroccan Infrastructure

Morocco Tourism Sectors Moroccan Infrastructure

Tourism is one of the most important sectors in Moroccan economy. It is well developed with a strong tourist industry focused on the country's coast, culture, and history. Morocco attracted more than 13 million tourists in 2019. Tourism is the second largest foreign exchange earner in Morocco after the phosphate industry. The Moroccan government is heavily investing in tourism development, in 2010 the government launched its Vision 2020 which plans to make Morocco one of the top 20 tourist destinations in the world and to double the annual number of international arrivals to 20 million by 2020, with the hope that tourism will then have risen to 20% of GDP.

Large government sponsored marketing campaigns to attract tourists advertised Morocco as an inexpensive and exotic, yet safe, place for tourists. Most of the visitors to Morocco continue to be European, with French nationals making up almost 20% of all visitors. Most Europeans visit between April and August. Morocco's relatively high number of tourists has been aided by its location—Morocco is close to Europe and attracts visitors to its beaches. Because of its proximity to Spain, tourists in southern Spain's coastal areas take one- to three-day trips to Morocco.

Since air services between Morocco and Algeria have been established, many Algerians have gone to Morocco to shop and visit family and friends. Morocco is relatively inexpensive because of the devaluation of the dirham and the increase of hotel prices in Spain. Morocco has an excellent road and rail infrastructure that links the major cities and tourist destinations with ports and cities with international airports. Low-cost airlines offer reduced-price flights to the country.

Tourism is increasingly focused on Morocco's culture, such as its ancient cities. The modern tourist industry capitalises on Morocco's ancient and Islamic sites, and on its landscape and cultural history. 60% of Morocco's tourists visit for its culture and heritage. Agadir is a major coastal resort and has a third of all Moroccan bed nights. It is a base for tours to the Atlas Mountains. Other resorts in north Morocco are also very popular.

Casablanca is the major cruise port in Morocco, and has the best developed market for tourists in Morocco, Marrakech in central Morocco is a popular tourist destination, but is more popular among tourists for one- and two-day excursions that provide a taste of Morocco's history and culture. The Majorelle botanical garden in Marrakech is a popular tourist attraction. It was bought by the fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1980. Their presence in the city helped to boost the city's profile as a tourist destination.

As of 2006, activity and adventure tourism in the Atlas and Rif Mountains are the fastest growth area in Moroccan tourism. These locations have excellent walking and trekking opportunities from late March to mid-November. The government is investing in trekking circuits. They are also developing desert tourism in competition with Tunisia.

Morocco Tourism Infrastructure

According to the Global Competitiveness Report of 2019, Morocco Ranked 32nd in the world in terms of Roads, 16th in Sea, 45th in Air and 64th in Railways. This gives Morocco the best infrastructure rankings in the African continent.

Modern infrastructure development, such as ports, airports, and rail links, is a top government priority. To meet the growing domestic demand, the Moroccan government invested more than $15 billion from 2010 to 2015 in upgrading its basic infrastructure.

Morocco has one of the best road systems on the continent. Over the past 20 years, the government has built approximately 1770 kilometers of modern roads, connecting most major cities via toll expressways. The Moroccan Ministry of Equipment, Transport, Logistics, and Water aims to build an additional 3380 kilometers of expressway and 2100 kilometers of highway by 2030, at an expected cost of $9.6 billion. It focuses on linking the southern provinces, notably the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla to the rest of Morocco.

In 2014, Morocco began the construction of the first high-speed railway system in Africa linking the cities of Tangier and Casablanca. It was inaugurated in 2018 by the King following over a decade of planning and construction by Moroccan National Railway company ONCF. It is the first phase of what is planned to eventually be a 1,500 kilometeres (930 mi) high-speed rail network in Morocco. An extension of the line to Marrakesh is already being planned.

Morocco also has the largest port in Africa and the Mediterranean, Tanger-Med, which is ranked the 18th in the world with a handling capacity of over 9 million containers. It is situated in the Tangier free economic zone and serves as a logistics hub for Africa and the world.

Morocco Tourism Overview

Morocco Capital: Rabat
Rabat Coordinates: 34°02′N 6°51′W
Morocco Largest City: Casablanca
Casablanca Coordinates: 33°32′N 7°35′W
Morocco Official Languages:
Morocco Arabic Tamazight
Morocco Spoken Languages:
92% Arabic
91% Moroccan Arabic
0.8% Hassaniya Arabic
26.0% Berber languages
14.1% Tashelhit
7.9% Tamazight
4.0% Tarifit
Morocco Foreign Languages:
French, English, Spanish
Morocco Ethnic Groups:
67% Arabs
31% Berbers
2% Sahrawis
Morocco Religion (2020):
99.6% Islam (official)
99.23% Sunni
0.45% Shia
0.3% Others
0.13% Agnostics
0.10% Baháʼís
0.09% Christians
0.01% Jews
Morocco Demonym(s): Moroccan
Morocco Government: Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy
Morocco King: King Mohammed VI
Morocco Prime Minister: Aziz Akhannouch
Morocco Legislature: Parliament
Morocco Upper House: House of Councillors
Morocco Lower House: House of Representatives
Morocco Establishment: Idrisid dynasty 788
Morocco Alawi dynasty (current dynasty) 1631
Morocco Protectorate Established: 30 March 1912
Morocco Independence: 7 April 1956
Morocco Area Total:
446,550 km2 (172,410 sq mi)
Morocco Population:
2022 Estimate 37,984,655
2014 Census 33,848,242
Morocco Currency: Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Morocco Time Zone: UTC+1
Morocco UTC+0 (during Ramadan)
Morocco Driving Side: Right
Morocco Calling Code: +212
Morocco ISO: 3166 Code: MA
Morocco Internet TLD:
.ma
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