Tourism: Figures that hide other figures

Three million passengers landed at Moroccan airports in July. These figures are published on the website of the National Airports Authority (ONDA) and in a note from the Directorate of Financial Studies and Forecasting (DEPF), which also refers to a January/July total of 10 million arrivals.

However, not every person arriving at the airport translates into an overnight stay in Moroccan hotels. Among the passengers, there are certainly those who opt for Airbnb or Moroccans returning from a trip or pilgrimage. Professionals estimate that 50% of people who arrive at the airport do not go to hotels.

In Agadir, for example, accommodation establishments received 130,000 arrivals last July, while arrivals/passengers at Al Massira airport exceeded 266,000. Should one be pleased or alarmed by the growing popularity of Apart-Hotel and Airbnb accommodation in Morocco?

Faced with rising hotel prices, many holidaymakers, both Moroccan and foreign, prefer this type of accommodation as an alternative thanks to better value for money, but also more flexibility, especially for families or groups of friends. It has to be said, too, that during the summer vacations and the holiday season, hotel rates are unbelievably high. But here again, hoteliers are putting forward their own arguments, linked to the law of supply and demand and seasonality…. For Hamid Bentahar, President of the National Tourism Confederation (CNT), high prices are a global phenomenon, affecting all sectors. «Hotel rates in Morocco are identical to those in Spain or France», he argues. The subject merits further reflection, as many Moroccans – estimated at over a million – from Morocco and other European countries have chosen to spend their summer in southern Spain. All the more so as there has been a positive trend in terms of number of visas issued by Spain.

For Bentahar, this behavior confirms that Morocco’s tourism strategy is on the right track: «We can’t aspire to be a major tourist country without also being a tourist-sending country», he points out. «We shouldn’t forget that the same Moroccan middle class that travels abroad in summer also travels within the country to hotels in winter and spring», added the president of CNT. In any case, July’s figures should not conceal another reality: domestic tourism was absent in July, at least within 5-to-3 star accommodation establishments (see L’Economiste no. 6833 of August 27, 2024). For Bentahar, it is a question of reservations and capacity. Seaside hotels are booked up to 8 months in advance. He added that August was a totally different month, with a balance between different markets.

Badra BERRISSOULE