São Paulo – Tourism revenues grew 6.7% in Morocco in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period of last year, according to a survey conducted by the Oxford Business Group (OBG). An article published by the Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) shows that the earnings reached 11.1 billion dirhans during the period, i.e. 980.2 million euros.
According to the OBG, the terrorist attack that took place in May at a café in Marrakech did not cause strong losses in tourism. “Only 22,000 evening reservations for May, June and July have been cancelled,” says the OBG. The figure is equivalent to 5% of total reservations. The country’s tourism industry should see an “outstanding year” in 2011.
Last year, over 9.3 million tourists visited Morocco, representing growth of 11.5% over the previous year. The number of overnight stays grew by 11% and the average occupancy rate at hotels was 44% in 2010, as against 41% in 2009. Revenues from tourism reached 56.2 billion dirhans, or 4.96 billion euros.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
