Morocco consolidates its presence in the Spanish tourism market
- Morocco, an increasingly popular destination
- Million-dollar deals for Morocco
- Target: 26 million tourists
After receiving last year's award for ‘best stand’, Morocco will once again be present at the 45th edition of the FITUR 2025 International Tourism Trade Fair, the most important in the world in this sector.
On this occasion, the Moroccan delegation, headed by Ambassador Karim Benyaich, was made up of more than 180 tourism professionals, a figure only exceeded by the Spanish and Argentinian delegations.
The Fair, which is being held from 22 to 26 January, was inaugurated, as is customary every year, by the King and Queen of Spain, who visited the stands of the more than 156 countries that gathered at the IFEMA facilities one by one.
Honrados por la visita de SM El Rey Felipe VI y de SM la Reina Doña Letizia al pabellón de Marruecos en la 45ª edición del #FITUR2025, uno de los mayores eventos del sector turístico, en el que participamos con un maravilloso pabellón de 712m2, con de más de 42 expositores de 10… pic.twitter.com/MHUUCSwPea
— Marruecos en España (@MoroccoInESP) January 22, 2025
Morocco, an increasingly popular destination
With a décor reminiscent of the tourist attractions of Tangiers and the arid region of Errachidia, with ancient buildings and abundant nature, the North African country's stand aimed to attract the attention of travel agencies, hotel chains and other companies in the tourism sector.
The Moroccan delegation included members of the country's two largest airlines, Royal Air Maroc and Air Arabia, which achieved their best passenger figures ever in 2024, while reopening most of the connections closed due to the pandemic.
One of Morocco's main arguments at the Fair is the close relationship between Moroccan and Spanish citizens, and the frequency with which they travel from one side of the Mediterranean to the other. With more than 3.5 million passengers in 2024, Spain is the main source of tourists visiting the Alawi nation.
Morocco highlighted its tourist attractions at FITUR, with all kinds of destinations and for everyone: from extreme sports trips to luxury resorts in some emblematic bays and beaches, such as the Bay of Dakhla, chosen as one of the 20 best in the world, as well as inland tourism in the more mountainous regions, where all kinds of activities can be enjoyed.
Part of the success of Moroccan tourism was the increase of more than 20 % in the number of trips and flights to Morocco by airlines from all over the world. Moreover, taking advantage of FITUR, airlines such as Royal Air Maroc announced that the number of connections will increase by 8 % before the summer of 2025 and by 16 % by the end of the year.
Million-dollar deals for Morocco
Morocco's commitment to tourism is clear. In addition to the agreements signed at FITUR, Morocco's main tourism organisation, the ONMT, signed several contracts with the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV) and the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APATV).
With the aim of positioning Morocco as a more attractive destination for Spanish and Portuguese, the ONMT highlighted the great potential of the initiatives promoted by both institutions such as the CEAV Travel Days, to be held in Morocco in October; and the annual congress of APAVT, which will be held for the first time in 2026 with the presence of more than 850 Spanish and Portuguese companies, and where the best destinations for their customers will be offered at the best prices, a section in which Morocco wants to be present.
In turn, the ONMT announced that it has maintained contact with one of the regions most visited by the Alawi country: Andalusia. Through approaches with the Andalusian Federation of Travel Agencies (FAAV), Morocco plans to reach new agreements with all types of companies in the Andalusian tourism sector to make the tourists' experience as satisfactory as possible, investing in better maritime and air connections. In particular, there was talk of improving connections with Tetouan.
To this end, the Moroccan National Tourism Organisation signed dozens of contracts with the main entities that met at FITUR. The most important partnerships were with Viajes El Corte Inglés, TripAdvisor, Destinia and Expedia.
Target: 26 million tourists
Morocco's investments in the tourism sector are aimed at reaching the target of 26 million tourists by 2030. The fact that it coincides with the hosting of the World Cup has accelerated the search for and investment in the tourism industry.
With a clear roadmap set for 2022, Morocco has been cutting deadlines year after year. With a total of 17.4 million tourists last year, 1.4 million more than expected, the North African country is reaching world-class tourism levels.
To achieve these figures, the government's help is essential. Since the implementation of the new Investment Charter, tourists arriving in Morocco are staying longer and the percentage of people staying or investing in the country is becoming increasingly common.
If this trend continues, Fatima-Zahra Ammor, Morocco's Minister of Tourism, has made it clear that the goal of reaching 26 million tourists could be achieved even earlier than the target date of 2030.
