Justice and Development Party (PJD) MP Fatima Zahra Bata estimates that the 14.5 million tourist arrivals in Morocco in 2023 certainly represent a record figure, but do not reflect the low share of international tourists.
In a written question addressed to the Minister of Tourism, Crafts, Social and Solidarity Economy, the parliamentarian stressed that this increase in arrivals is essentially due to Moroccans residing abroad (MRE) who make up 51%. of the total compared to 49% for international tourists. In 2019, the trend was rather reversed with a share of 55% for foreign tourists and 45% for MREs, she recalled.
This situation has had a negative impact on tourist overnight stays, said the PJDiste MP who also noted the 50% decrease in the number of German, Chinese and Japanese tourists in the kingdom in terms of overnight stays compared to 2019.
Fatima Zahra Bata considers that Morocco has also not performed well in terms of attracting foreign currencies for the tourism sector, noting an increase of 12% for the kingdom compared to 40% for global tourism in 2023.
Based on these data, the parliamentarian concludes that Morocco’s performance in terms of international tourism has remained very weak. According to her, the Ministry of Tourism has failed to attract foreign tourists to the kingdom. This is why she asked to know the measures that this department intends to take to further attract international tourists during this year.