Morocco’s RAM to quadruple its fleet to 200 aircrafts by 2037

Moroccan flag carrier RAM plans to increase its fleet fourfold from 50 aircrafts to 200 by 2037 as the country prepares to host 67 million tourists, the Prime minister’s office said.

A contract, signed Tuesday, covers the 2023-2037 period providing for an increase in the state’s contribution in RAM’s capital, the prime minister’s office said.

The deal was signed by Prime minister Aziz Akhannouch and RAM’s CEO Hamid Addou as the country is poised to outperform pre-pandemic tourism and air traffic activity.

Most of RAM fleet is composed of Boeing aircraft notably Boeing 737-800.

This capital increase would allow RAM to launch new air routes internationally and domestically and bolster the competitiveness of Casablanca among Africa’s best three hubs.

Morocco’s tourism promotion plan aims to attract 17.5 million tourists by 2026 generating revenue of $12 billion and 80,000 direct jobs and 120,000 indirect.

Morocco is poised to break a new record in tourist arrival and revenue this year. At the end of June 2023, the number of arrivals stood at 6.5 million tourists, an increase of 21% compared to the pre-pandemic reference year of 2019.

In June, the volume of arrivals at border posts reached nearly 1.4 million tourists, i.e. +25% compared to 2019, according to the tourism ministry. Several markets contributed to this performance, notably Spain (+79% Vs. 2019), the United Kingdom (+23% Vs. 2019), Portugal (+16% Vs. 2019) and the Israeli market (+96 % vs. 2019).

In terms of sector productivity, tourism, a major foreign exchange provider, generated MAD 41 billion in foreign currency travel receipts at the end of May 2023, an exceptional increase of +42% compared to the same period of 2019.