Global Arab Network | Morocco forecasts around bn in tourism revenues in 2010

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Morocco forecasts around $57bn in tourism revenues in 2010

Global Arab Network - - Mokhtar Thabet

Wednesday, 14 April 2010 14:32

Rabat - Moroccan tourism minister Yassir Znagui said that overall tourism revenues are forecast to amount to 465 billion dirhams ($56.4billion) in 2010.

The minister said, at a meeting with productive-sector commission in the House of Representatives, that more than one million tourists visited the kingdom in the first two months of 2010, 14% up from the same period a year earlier.

He described the Vision 2010 as "ambitious" and "innovative", adding that the sector is witnessing since the start of the decade a strong momentum and now contributes more than 9% of GDP.

The vision, drawn up in 2001, is aimed at attracting 10 million tourists by this year.

He pointed out that the year 2009 saw the launch of the "Mediterrania Saïdia" resort and the first stage of "Mazagan" near El Jadida as part of the Plan Azur, a key component of the strategy.

The plan identifies six resorts along the country’s coastline, providing 110,000 beds on 3,000 ha, with investments totalling 46 billion dirhams.

Znagui noted that domestic tourism is a major component in the ministry’s action given its importance at economic and social levels, saying that the "Plan Biladi", one of the plans programmed for this purpose, aims at creating new tourist areas with products and prices meeting local tourists’ expectations.

Moreover, the number of tourists visiting Morocco increased 14% in the first two months of the year from the year-earlier period, Tourism Ministry said.

The number of tourists rose to one million, the department said in a statement, adding that the French topped the list with 386,000 (+8 %), followed by the Spanish with 227,000 (+ 22 %) and the British with 57,000 (+ 23%).

Tourism receipts increased to 6.52 billion dirhams (778.5 million dollars) in the January-February 2010, that is a 10.5 % rise compared to the same period last year.

Global Arab Network

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