Moroccans, Russians & Algerians Save Tourist Season in Agadir

After a sharp drop in tourist arrivals last June which coincided with the holy month of Ramadan, the tourism sector in Agadir is showing signs of recovery thanks to significant rise in national, Russian and Algerian tourists.

Much to the delight of tourism professionals, most hotels in Morocco’s second tourist destination were fully booked in August to an extent that some tourists are spending the night in the beach or in their cars, Telquel magazine reported.

The 29,000 beds in the city’s hotels were not enough to accommodate the rising numbers of tourists in August, the magazine quoted an official from the regional tourism council as saying.

In the first half of 2016, tourist nights fell along with the number of tourist arrivals which dropped by 3% to stand at 473,000. This slowdown in tourist activity is ascribed to a 20% decrease in arrivals from traditional western European markets: France, the UK, Germany and Belgium, the same source added.

To make up for the decrease in foreign tourists, Agadir tourism authorities are gearing efforts towards attracting more national tourists whose numbers rose by 58% in July compared to the same period last year.

The city has also witnessed a significant increase of arrivals from Russia with 5200 Russians visiting Agadir in July 2016 compared to 1000 in July 2015.

To diversify tourism markets, authorities in Agadir are planning to attract more Algerian tourists through establishing a direct air link between the Atlantic Moroccan city and Algiers, Telquel reported.