No drop of foreign tourists in Morocco after may 16 terrorist attacks

No drop was registered in the number of foreign tourists visiting Morocco despite the terrorist attacks that hit Casablanca last May, noted on Sunday the French radio station (RFI) part of a special program on tourism.

"The country has a significant asset in its tourism promotion strategy, that is the Moroccan Diaspora," said RFI, underlining that some 3 million Moroccan expatriates "are the first source of foreign currency, ahead of tourism."

Quoting estimates of the Moroccan finance and privatization ministry, the French radio said remittances of Moroccan expatriates reached 3.7 billion Euro this year, that is an increase of 5 percent compared to last year.

Some 30 to 40 percent of these foreign currency transfers were made in July and August, a period when expatriates return to their country for summer holidays, RFI underlined, deeming that the "challenge ahead for Morocco is to succeed in attracting the third generation of immigrants to be in its turn a generation of investors."

RFI recalled that Morocco created in 2002 a ministry in charge of Moroccan expatriates to maintain links with Moroccans abroad, adding that an exhibition destined for Moroccan expatriates was held at the beginning of August at the international fairground of Casablanca.