All observers agree: 2008 will not be a good year for tourism.
27 October 2009
Read by 7293 persons
In any case, it will be worse than the previous year for most national destinations. Many were counting on the summer period, spontaneous bookings and the arrival of Moroccans residing abroad to offset the drop in overnight stays recorded since the beginning of the year. But by mid-July, neither the MREs nor others seem to be flocking in.
Tanger, the gateway to Morocco, is an ideal observation post for assessing the flow of arrivals, especially MREs. "There aren't many people. You wouldn't think it's summer, and we don't see many MREs this year," says Mustapha Boucetta, president of the Regional Tourism Council (CRT) of the city. Yet this city has no reason to complain; it is one of the destinations that has been performing well since the beginning of the year with a 6% increase in overnight stays for the first five months.
"Of course," concedes Mustapha Boucetta, "the hotels are fairly well frequented (editor's note: occupancy rate around 50%), but ancillary activities, nightclubs, restaurants... are almost inactive."
A quiet summer for Agadir
Casablanca, for its part, recorded the highest growth rate in overnight stays, at +10%, thanks to the opening of new establishments. Fes is also experiencing the same phenomenon with additional accommodation capacity due to the opening of guesthouses in 2007.
"Probably, Fes, even if it is not a summer destination, would have had better attendance if direct flights from the United Kingdom had not been cancelled since the beginning of the year due to excessively high airport taxes," notes a hotelier accustomed to working with British clientele.
In contrast, Marrakech, which was recently said to no longer experience seasonality, is worried about its summer this year. "Last year I had trouble finding available rooms in July, but this year I'm not worried," says a travel agent. Some even predict a catastrophic summer for Marrakech.
The occupancy rate in classified hotels is 63% for May, compared to 69% in May of last year. The decline in overnight stays has been established since the beginning of the year with -16% for the French market, -18% for the Belgian market, -13% for the British market and -17% for the Italian market. It is difficult to imagine a turnaround this summer.
Finally, in Agadir, and despite a concentration of promotion on the markets of Eastern European countries, the summer promises to be rather quiet. But we are counting on the arrivals of nationals. Some professionals even come to regret Kounouz Biladi...
Published on July 22, 2008
Posted online on July 22, 2008
yabiladi.com
Tanger, the gateway to Morocco, is an ideal observation post for assessing the flow of arrivals, especially MREs. "There aren't many people. You wouldn't think it's summer, and we don't see many MREs this year," says Mustapha Boucetta, president of the Regional Tourism Council (CRT) of the city. Yet this city has no reason to complain; it is one of the destinations that has been performing well since the beginning of the year with a 6% increase in overnight stays for the first five months.
"Of course," concedes Mustapha Boucetta, "the hotels are fairly well frequented (editor's note: occupancy rate around 50%), but ancillary activities, nightclubs, restaurants... are almost inactive."
A quiet summer for Agadir
Casablanca, for its part, recorded the highest growth rate in overnight stays, at +10%, thanks to the opening of new establishments. Fes is also experiencing the same phenomenon with additional accommodation capacity due to the opening of guesthouses in 2007.
"Probably, Fes, even if it is not a summer destination, would have had better attendance if direct flights from the United Kingdom had not been cancelled since the beginning of the year due to excessively high airport taxes," notes a hotelier accustomed to working with British clientele.
In contrast, Marrakech, which was recently said to no longer experience seasonality, is worried about its summer this year. "Last year I had trouble finding available rooms in July, but this year I'm not worried," says a travel agent. Some even predict a catastrophic summer for Marrakech.
The occupancy rate in classified hotels is 63% for May, compared to 69% in May of last year. The decline in overnight stays has been established since the beginning of the year with -16% for the French market, -18% for the Belgian market, -13% for the British market and -17% for the Italian market. It is difficult to imagine a turnaround this summer.
Finally, in Agadir, and despite a concentration of promotion on the markets of Eastern European countries, the summer promises to be rather quiet. But we are counting on the arrivals of nationals. Some professionals even come to regret Kounouz Biladi...
Published on July 22, 2008
Posted online on July 22, 2008
yabiladi.com
