Morocco on course to attract half million Chinese tourists annually

Morocco is set on diversifying its tourist emitting markets with the signing with Chinese tour operator, C Trip, of an agreement that could bring 500,000 tourists annually.

 

The North African country has attracted 12.3 million tourists in 2018 making it the largest African tourism market as it has become the 30th most visited country globally.

Some 180,000 Chinese tourists visited Morocco, which sees enormous opportunities in the Chinese market, emitting annually 130 million tourists who spend generously.

The agreement signed by head of Morocco’s tourism promotion office ONMT and chairman of C Trip aims at showcasing Morocco’s attractions in Chinese advertising platforms.

C Trip is the largest tour operator online with some 300 million users and employing 30,000 people. The company’s turnover stood at 4 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) will launch in Januray 2020 a new direct flight connecting Casablanca Mohammed V International airport with Peking, China, local news outlet le360.ma reported on Friday.

Flights will be operated by a Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 with a capacity of more than 240 seats.

The flights from Casablanca are scheduled for Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Flights from Pekin will be available on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

This will be RAM’s first direct flight to the Asian continent. It is the only airline company in the Maghreb and West Africa to schedule a direct flight to China.

Morocco, which exempted Chinese citizens from visa requirements in 2015, tried to improve its connectivity with China through establishing partnerships with three key international airlines – Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines and Air France – with a view to increasing the number of regular flights connecting Chinese cities with Morocco’s prime tourist destinations.

ONMT had also signed an agreement with the Confucius Center to train tourist guides to speak mandarin.