MOROCCO
A kingdom located at a crossroads between Europe and Africa, Morocco has maintained stability despite economic hardship in the past and large numbers of migrants passing through on their way to Europe. The government has been working hard over the past few years to develop a sustainable and healthy economy for all of its citizens, including major infrastructure improvements and housing schemes, while working closely with Europe and the US to both ensure regional stability and create open markets for trade and commerce.
Morocco has developed an ambitious strategy, dubbed "Vision 2010", aimed at attracting 10 million tourists a year by 2010. This strategy provides for creating 160,000 beds, bringing the national capacity to 230,000 beds. It also aims to create some 600,000 new jobs. There are six key areas identified in the broader Azur Plan which focuses on large scale development project sites predominantly located on the coastline, with contracts already awarded to international developers.
The Moroccan Government is heavily investing in tourism with an objective to increase tourist levels by an average of 15% per annum until 2010. This investment covers many different aspects of the infrastructure and is aimed at increasing the proportion of Morocco's GDP which is accounted for by tourism to 20%.
This strategy has proved to be effective, with tourism for 2006 increasing by 12% on the previous year and a 14% annual increase in tourist numbers during the first 11 months of 2007.
Tourist nights in classified hotels posted a 7% increase, reaching some 10 million nights. Marrakech remains at the top of the list of highly visited tourist destinations with an increase of 11%, followed by Casablanca (+10%), Tangier with (+9%), Fez with (+7%), Rabat (+6%), and Agadir (+3%).
The predominant base of tourism is provided by the French, followed by domestic tourism, Spanish, Belgian then British. The government's investment initiatives mainly focus on the provision of both tourist accommodation and hotels with a concentration on the coast line and additional facilities including golf courses.
The vast scale of construction is already having a major impact on the local economy and is set to continue into 2010, with GDP forecast to grow by approximately 6% in 2008.
Real estate capital growth rates are hard to measure accurately with a variety of sources reporting levels of up to 30% per annum, however it is advised to take the more conservative view applied by Knight Frank and other credible sources who consider growth of 15% per annum to be accurate. This level of growth is estimated to continue for the foreseeable future in-line with increases in tourism, as increased demand is satisfied by new supply.
The recent Open Skies policy can only further benefit tourism. A number of low-cost airlines have entered the market. Operators such as Easyjet, Ryanair, Atlas Blue, Royal Air Maroc, British Airways and Thomson all offer direct flights to Marrakech from major UK airports as well as a large number of other countries and these services are encouraging even more growth in tourism in and around the major cities.
Morocco - Key Factors:
- Political and economic stability with continuing growth
- Massive investment in infrastructure and tourist locations
- Ongoing Growth in Tourist levels - 12% annual increase in 2006 and a 14% annual increase in 2007
- Low entry level property in comparison to other European Destinations
- Cultural Mecca
- Wide variety of Tourists from France, Spain, Belgium and increasing levels from the UK
- Un-spoilt beach front locations
- Open Skies Policy encouraging massive growth in budget airlines
- Capital Growth in excess of 15% per Annum
- Excellent rental potential
