King Mohammed spells out strategy to attain ten million tourist/year by 2010
Morocco, Economics, 2/15/2003

Morocco's King Mohammed VI spelled out Morocco's strategy to attain ten million tourists per annum by 2010, calling on operators from both the public and the private sectors to join efforts to this end.

The sovereign, who addressed a message to the 3rd national conference on tourism that opened this Friday in Agadir, hoped that the rate of accommodation capacity increase -10,000 new beds in the year 2003, compared to an average of 1,500 new beds per annum in the second half of the 1990's- "will double in the medium term, with the opening of the Aguedal-Marrakesh and Taghazout-Agadir zones, as well as the seaside resorts to be built in El-Jadida, Essaouira, Sa?dia and Costa-Blanca."

Tenders, said the king in the message read out by prime minister, Driss Jettou, have already been invited for these projects, and major international companies have expressed interest, evincing Morocco's "record of credibility" with major foreign investors, in spite of the difficult international juncture.

He further cited measures taken by the government to settle legal issues related to land ownership in many tourist resorts, adding that contracts for the development of these projects have been awarded to private companies to ensure speed and efficiency.

At the same time, he went on, efforts are being made to provide special training in tourism-related trades and services, recalling that during this decade, more than seventy thousand skilled workers are expected to be trained in the tourism sector which is an inexhaustible source of employment for young people.

"These achievements, important though they are, should not conceal the magnitude of the challenges that we must overcome if we want tourism to become the mainstay in the project to build a modern, competitive and open national economy," said the royal message.

King Mohammed VI also stressed the importance of transport, particularly air transport, in the effort to enhance the competitiveness of Morocco's tourism. He emphasized, in this regard, the necessity to extend the existing network by running direct flights to tourist destinations, noting that the air transport industry must be upgraded with a view to liberalizing it and boosting its competitiveness.

"Morocco has already accomplished a lot in this field, mainly by securing a substantial increase in tourism investments, and by bringing accommodation capacity up to 10,000 new beds in the year 2003, compared to an average of 1,500 new beds per annum in the second half of the 1990's," said the royal message.

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