By LeSiteinfo with MAP
Morocco reached a new record of 14.6 million tourists at the end of last October, exceeding in just 10 months the absolute record for the entire year 2023, announced Wednesday in Dakhla, the Minister of Tourism, Crafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatim-Zahra Ammor.
This exceptional performance was achieved thanks to the effective implementation of the 2023-2026 Tourism Roadmap, explained Ammor, on the occasion of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT) and the airline Ryanair, relating to the launch from January 2025 of two new direct air services connecting the pearl of the South to Madrid in Spain and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
This performance represents an increase of 19% compared to the same period in 2023, or 2.3 million additional arrivals, she specified, noting that this remarkable growth is driven both by foreign tourists, in increase of 22% (+1.3 million), and by Moroccans living abroad (MRE), up 16% (+1 million).
The month of October 2024 performed particularly well with around 1.5 million tourists welcomed, an exceptional increase of 30% compared to October 2023, she continued.
Through these extraordinary figures, Morocco affirms more than ever its position as an essential destination on the international scene, she noted, noting that the different regions of the Kingdom offer a mosaic of unique experiences, which continue to amaze people. travelers from all over the world.
In addition, she indicated that the tourist offer in the Pearl of the South is experiencing constant development, specifying that it recorded 250,000 tourist nights last September, an increase of 26%, as well as the increase in the rate of hotel occupancy at 40%, an increase of 7 points.
As for Dakhla air traffic, there was an increase of 30% in air seats (31,000 air seats in 2024), she continued.
In this line, the government official indicated that Dakhla hosts three weekly flights from Paris, with one flight operated by Royal Air Maroc and two flights by Transavia, in addition to two weekly flights from Las Palmas by Binter Canaria.
In addition, Ammor announced that from January 2025, two new direct air services connecting the pearl of the South to Madrid in Spain and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands will be operational, with two frequencies per week.
These new airlines will make it possible to add some 16,000 additional airline seats, which will increase capacity by 50%, she added, noting that this is a major step towards achieving the objective of four international airlines to Dakhla for two years.
S.L.
