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Rabat - Tourism sector, a real engine for Morocco's economic and social development, achieved over the past three years positive and encouraging results with an increase in tourist arrivals (+8%), in bed capacity (+30,000 beds), and in employment (+50,000 jobs), said Tourism Minister Lahcen Haddad.
The sector, which showed resilience in a difficult international juncture, generated 174 billion dirhams of foreign exchange earnings and a turnover of over 310 billion dirhams, said Haddad at the opening of the 11th Tourism Conference on Monday in Rabat.
"These results show the sector's resilience and its capacity to overcome crises and difficulties," he said, adding that, "in order to enhance these results, the government confirms its commitment to making the tourism industry a real development lever and a source for wealth and employment for the benefit of youth."
The cabinet continued on the path of the dynamic triggered by the Strategy 2010, which represented a real platform and a road map for the sector, by launching the Vision 2020, considered as an ambitious and innovative tourist strategy seeking to include Morocco among the world's top 20 hot destinations and make it a reference in terms of sustainable development in the Mediterranean region, said the minister.
This vision, which aims to increase the sector's size twofold, is based on equitable division of wealth throughout Morocco.
"It is meant to enable the emergence of eight tourist territories offering diversified and complementary products," said Haddad during the Conference which brings together representatives of the public sector and national and foreign tourist actors, and seeks to assess the progress of the Vision 2020 as well as the main achievements over the past four years.
To make this vision operational across the Kingdom, a series of consultations were launched along with the parties concerned leading to the signature of regional program contracts providing for nearly 1000 tourist projects, he said.
The minister also highlighted the importance of developing tourist products, notably the Azur Plan, noting that the government will reprogram, in collaboration with the private sector, the building or the remaining phase of work at the level of Mogador, Mazagan and Oued Chbika before 2020.
