By MOSTAPHA ZAROU
AL ARABIYA LONDON
AL ARABIYA LONDON
When Yassir Zenagui came to London the other day, everyone wanted to know if last month’s bombing at the Argana Café in Marrakesh’s famous Jamaa el-Fnaa Square would have a lasting impact on Morocco’s economy.
After all, somebody said to him, in the first two weeks after the attack—in which 16 people died, including 8 Frenchmen, and dozens were wounded—some 23,000 people cancelled their trip to Morocco for the next three months, with the majority of them from Europe.
After all, somebody said to him, in the first two weeks after the attack—in which 16 people died, including 8 Frenchmen, and dozens were wounded—some 23,000 people cancelled their trip to Morocco for the next three months, with the majority of them from Europe.
Mr. Zenagui was not fazed by the question.
“This is a small percentage—2.8 percent—of our tourist traffic,” he said, “which suggests that Morocco is still a sought-after destination. “I was surprised at the reaction of tourists after the bombing; they reacted positively and they are going on with their business in the famous square.”
“The bombing won’t derail the strong foundation of tourism in Morocco,” Mr. Zenagui added.
It could be argued that he is positive about Morocco because that’s his job. Mr. Zenagui is the country’s tourism minister, and he’s been going through Europe trying to reassure potential tourists not to scuttle their travel plans.
His job apart, Mr. Zenagui—who was interviewed by Al Arabiya in London—speaks with deep conviction about Morocco’s vaunted hospitality and openness toward visitors.
That conviction is reinforced by the fact that the tourism sector in Morocco saw significant growth in 2010, a trend that continued in the first quarter of 2011. It is no wonder that the minister of tourism has embarked on a mission to ensure that tourists keep coming.
According to government statistics, which were confirmed by Mr. Zenagui, foreign tourist arrivals increased by 19 percent last year, and the first four months of 2011 recorded a jump of almost 11 percent over a comparable period in 2010—more than double what has been the trend in the world travel industry. Indeed, April 2011 saw a 16 percent increase in tourist traffic—a record, especially in view of the current geopolitical unrest in the Arab world.
Mr Zenagui said that the tourism sector had become a key tool in driving the national economy, which employs directly or indirectly around 2.5 million people. Tourism in Morocco is an essential contributor to the economy and represents almost 10 percent of gross domestic product. The Moroccan strategy has more than doubled the number of tourists from 4 million in 2001 to 10 million tourists last year with revenue tripled in the last 10 years, reaching more than $6 billion. Thanks to its long-term tourism development strategy, “Vision 2010,” tourism has become a fundamental stimulus for growth and development in Morocco.
The minister has an even more ambitious outlook in this thriving sector: “Our 2020 strategic vision has a greater ambition to double the tourism sector and the revenue three-fold and bring Morocco to one of the top 10 tourism destinations in the world,” Mr. Zenagui said.
Morocco’s market share is between 1.5 percent and 2 percent of the world travel market and this could be increased, as there are 750 million people willing to travel less than an hour or two from Europe to reach the country, the minister said.
Close proximity to Europe along with its increasing frequency of good air connections with major capitals, is making Morocco an ever more desirable destination for a holiday for the European, American Asian and the Arab markets.
Morocco is undergoing reforms and a far-reaching program of reconstruction and developments. The North African kingdom has a tremendous potential and offers real opportunities for investors. The business and investment environment has been much improved with assistance from the 27-member European Union.
Morocco is creating a new financial structure in order to attract investment to the tourism sector to reach the ambitious goals of the 2020 Vision. Among plans is the aim to create a new sovereign wealth fund and to attract investors in private and public partnerships.
However, what is lacking is the bed capacity, leisure parks and museums. Of 1,450 tourist sites only 350 are developed in Morocco.
The minister said that Morocco had already mobilized financial resources for further development in the form of a “Sovereign Wealth Fund” called MFDT (Moroccan Fund for Development of Tourism), which has 1.5 billion Euros (or roughly $1 billion) with the objective of cooperating with the private sector.
“This is a small percentage—2.8 percent—of our tourist traffic,” he said, “which suggests that Morocco is still a sought-after destination. “I was surprised at the reaction of tourists after the bombing; they reacted positively and they are going on with their business in the famous square.”
“The bombing won’t derail the strong foundation of tourism in Morocco,” Mr. Zenagui added.
It could be argued that he is positive about Morocco because that’s his job. Mr. Zenagui is the country’s tourism minister, and he’s been going through Europe trying to reassure potential tourists not to scuttle their travel plans.
His job apart, Mr. Zenagui—who was interviewed by Al Arabiya in London—speaks with deep conviction about Morocco’s vaunted hospitality and openness toward visitors.
That conviction is reinforced by the fact that the tourism sector in Morocco saw significant growth in 2010, a trend that continued in the first quarter of 2011. It is no wonder that the minister of tourism has embarked on a mission to ensure that tourists keep coming.
According to government statistics, which were confirmed by Mr. Zenagui, foreign tourist arrivals increased by 19 percent last year, and the first four months of 2011 recorded a jump of almost 11 percent over a comparable period in 2010—more than double what has been the trend in the world travel industry. Indeed, April 2011 saw a 16 percent increase in tourist traffic—a record, especially in view of the current geopolitical unrest in the Arab world.
Mr Zenagui said that the tourism sector had become a key tool in driving the national economy, which employs directly or indirectly around 2.5 million people. Tourism in Morocco is an essential contributor to the economy and represents almost 10 percent of gross domestic product. The Moroccan strategy has more than doubled the number of tourists from 4 million in 2001 to 10 million tourists last year with revenue tripled in the last 10 years, reaching more than $6 billion. Thanks to its long-term tourism development strategy, “Vision 2010,” tourism has become a fundamental stimulus for growth and development in Morocco.
The minister has an even more ambitious outlook in this thriving sector: “Our 2020 strategic vision has a greater ambition to double the tourism sector and the revenue three-fold and bring Morocco to one of the top 10 tourism destinations in the world,” Mr. Zenagui said.
Morocco’s market share is between 1.5 percent and 2 percent of the world travel market and this could be increased, as there are 750 million people willing to travel less than an hour or two from Europe to reach the country, the minister said.
Close proximity to Europe along with its increasing frequency of good air connections with major capitals, is making Morocco an ever more desirable destination for a holiday for the European, American Asian and the Arab markets.
Morocco is undergoing reforms and a far-reaching program of reconstruction and developments. The North African kingdom has a tremendous potential and offers real opportunities for investors. The business and investment environment has been much improved with assistance from the 27-member European Union.
Morocco is creating a new financial structure in order to attract investment to the tourism sector to reach the ambitious goals of the 2020 Vision. Among plans is the aim to create a new sovereign wealth fund and to attract investors in private and public partnerships.
However, what is lacking is the bed capacity, leisure parks and museums. Of 1,450 tourist sites only 350 are developed in Morocco.
The minister said that Morocco had already mobilized financial resources for further development in the form of a “Sovereign Wealth Fund” called MFDT (Moroccan Fund for Development of Tourism), which has 1.5 billion Euros (or roughly $1 billion) with the objective of cooperating with the private sector.
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