The related airline and tourism sectors had a very good year in 2024 with records for passenger traffic and tourist arrivals. This dynamic should continue in 2025, while meeting the challenge of quality and employment benefits.
The announcement of the signing by Royal Air Maroc (RAM) of 16 new agreements with major Chinese travel agencies, this Wednesday, December 18 in Beijing, is in itself sufficient to confirm the complete recovery of the air sector in Morocco after covid -19. Since according to forecasts from the National Airports Office (ONDA), air passenger traffic is expected to exceed 30 million travelers this year 2024, much more than last year’s record with 27.1 million passengers.
Already with the performances achieved since the start of the year (24.3 million in nine months), this objective seems achievable, which also pushes ONDA to adopt a logic of World Cup 2030, with a capacity increased to 80 million travelers.
Moreover, for this, an investment of MAD 12.3 billion spread over three financial years (2025-2027) has already been announced, with the upgrade and extension of numerous airports in several cities, starting by the largest of them, namely Mohammed V of Casablanca, which will have its third runway and the expansion of its terminals.
Altitude
Domestically, it is the arrival of a third company on domestic services which has considerably boosted passenger traffic. This is in fact the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, which, for several months, has been serving a tenth destination, especially since last summer.
For its part, the national company is heading back towards new destinations with strong tourist potential, notably the Chinese and South American markets, especially Brazil. Enough to support the notoriety acquired by Morocco throughout the world, since the Football World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
In a word, the Morocco destination is starting to give itself the means to achieve its ambitions, with RAM which will quadruple its air fleet by 2037, while covering 100 new international destinations. All this has obviously had repercussions on the tourist level, since, here too, professionals are unanimous in speaking of a “Momentum of Morocco”.
Tourist record
Like air travel, tourism also continues to break records over the months. In fact, the 15.9 million tourist arrivals recorded during the first eleven months of the year already exceed the total of the previous year, which was also a year of full return to normal for this sector. strategic of the national economy.
In any case, on the side of the Ministry of Tourism, we continue to welcome it, while making a correlation between the performances and the spin-offs in terms of job creation, since it is indicated that the tourism sector employed some 827,000 people in 2023, or 25,000 new direct jobs compared to 2022.
For the year 2024, we would still have to wait before having the updated and up-to-date indicators, everything indicates that the job market should follow the increase in activity according to professionals, in addition to the dynamics of construction of new tourist and hotel establishments, in view of the organization of the 2030 World Cup.
Quality
But, beyond these results, this challenge of job creation must be met, in order to support government policy. The other challenge remains the quality of the offer, knowing that Morocco is preparing to welcome Africa and the world from 2025, with the CAN then 5 years later with the World Cup.
At the level of airports as well as tourist and hotel establishments, the emphasis should absolutely be placed on this move upmarket of the quality offer. Morocco’s ability to maintain its position as a key player in the global tourism sector and a landmark on the international air traffic map is at stake.
Abdellah Benahmed / ECO Inspirations
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