A paradox must be highlighted. While overall tourist arrivals recorded an exceptional increase compared to 2019, the reference year in March, overnight stays do not experience the same momentum. This is what must be inferred from the statistics on tourism in Morocco since January 2023, statistics published by the Tourism Observatory. So, compared to the same period in 2019, the number of overnight stays fell by 10% in March. The overall volume of overnight stays did not exceed 1.9 million.
Per destination, with the exception of Marrakech and Essaouira, all the other cities posted declines compared to this period in 2019. Thus, the cities of Fez, Rabat, Casablanca, and Agadir recorded respective declines of 22%, 14%, 23 % and 14%. The cities of Ouarzazate and Tangiers were not spared either and posted declines of 22% and 7%. The explanations of the professionals include the lack of flight frequencies and the lack of diversity of hotel products. Marrakech, the only city that is doing well, shows a mere 2% increase for the month of March and 9% overall for the first quarter. In three months (January/March), the city received more than 690,000 tourists in 3-to-5-star tourist establishments which made more than 2 million overnight stays. The hotels have an average occupancy rate of over 65%. Comparing to 2019 as the reference year, the total overnight stays in classified 3-to-5-star accommodation establishments increased by 9%. Per market, the analysis is more telling. Several issuing countries have experienced a drop, including Germany (-39%), Holland (-34%), France (-5%), and Belgium (-28%). On the other hand, the United Kingdom is a hit with a positive evolution of 28%. Tourists coming from this market appreciate much more destinations like Marrakech or Al Haouz, and products such as guesthouses or homestays. Marrakech, for example, received during the first 3 months nearly 30,000 British tourists who made nearly 127,000 overnight stays, namely an average of 4 overnight stays per tourist.
Another market which is a hit and which was predictable is the Israeli market with an increase of 138% compared to 2019. The normalization of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel has enabled the establishment of direct airlines between Morocco and the State of Israel, which resulted in direct flights between Tel Aviv on the one hand and Marrakech and Casablanca on the other.
It should also be noted that the second major Moroccan tourist destination, namely the Souss-Massa region, which experienced an excellent recovery in 2022, is starting 2023 with a 15% drop in overnight stays compared to the first quarter of 2019, according to the regional dashboard of the national observatory. It is undoubtedly in summer that the destination will catch up.
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