Tourism: After hotels, Morocco tackles entertainment

In official speeches and in its tourism roadmap, Morocco is prioritizing tourism activities in order to attract more tourists and also increase the length of their stays. The Ministry of Tourism is emphasizing this aspect. The SMIT (Moroccan Tourism Engineering Corporation) has already begun supporting nearly 1,500 entertainment projects, more than a hundred of which are already operational.. « Although they often remain small in scale, their business models are becoming more consistent, reproducible, and capable of generating sustainable local value,“ explains Imad Barrakad, Director General of Smit. “What needs to be understood is that entertainment is an economic segment in its own right, inseparable from the overall transformation of the national tourism offering « , insists Barrakad.
Smit has chosen a two-stage development strategy, the first of which is currently being rolled out with medium-sized projects involving gaming and adventure tourism, while the second stage will involve larger-scale projects such as an amusement park. With 19.8 million tourists, Morocco is now mature enough to consider structural projects such as an amusement park.
This strategy was presented to investors and members of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), which organized its Morocco IAAPA summit in Marrakech in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Smit. The event brought together more than 150 participants, including 100 international investors and experts. The objective is to position Morocco as a competitive and structured destination for tourism investment with a portfolio of projects that include entertainment components with a strong economic, territorial, and attractiveness impact. Amusement parks attract hundreds of millions of visitors worldwide each year. The United States, with Disney, Universal, and others, largely dominates the sector. Asia is experiencing rapid growth, particularly in China and Japan. Europe also occupies a strategic position, and Middle Eastern countries are positioning themselves. Disney has announced a theme park in the UAE Developing a park is a costly undertaking. The construction of a single attraction can cost tens of millions of euros. These massive investments mean that profitability depends on the enthusiasm of tourists, but above all of the local population.
Tourism Minister Fatima-Zahra Ammor, who was present at the IAAPA summit, reminded association members that Morocco is by nature a land of experience and that this type of project is a priority, with funding available through the Investment Charter. It should be noted that the idea of a theme park is not new. The project was conceived more than 10 years ago and relaunched in 2023 with land identified (200 hectares) in the Marrakesh-Safi region. The line ministry and Smit are in talks with several investors. It should be noted that the park will be 100% privately funded.
Badra BERRISSOULE