The more I travel to Morocco the more it feels to me like one of those kids you had in your class at school who annoyingly seemed to be gifted at everything. They were clever, funny, good-looking, great at sports and popular with both the teachers and your classmates – so unfair. In the “tourism destination classroom,” some locations just seem to have more than their fair share of the demand drivers. Or do they?
On first inspection Morocco seems to be pretty “gifted.” With a coastline on the Mediterranean and one on the Atlantic, Morocco has a foreshore running to nearly 2,000 km in length, which includes hundreds of beautiful beaches, great fishing areas and several international hot spots for surfing, such as Taghazout, close to Agadir. Heading inland to the Atlas Mountains, you encounter snowy peaks that reach well over 4,000 meters and provide a playground for trekkers as well as serious climbers. Between the two you have historic cities such as Marrakech with its world-famous souks, Fez with its leather tanning and ancient fortified towns such as Ait Benhaddou, which dates back to the 17th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ben Martin is a principal in the London office of HKS Advisory.
Then there’s the desert with its desolate plains, sand dunes and oases and the rich culture of music, dancing and gastronomy. The people are warm and friendly, and Morocco even has its own much respected and well-loved royal family.
And yet, the steady 6% annual increase in tourism arrivals to Morocco since 2000, topping out at more than 12 million arrivals last year, is growth that has been carefully nurtured under the watchful eye of the Société Marocaine d’Ingénierie Touristique (the Moroccan Agency for Tourism Development), through a series of strategic initiatives and close partnerships with the private sector. It is no coincidence that the number of tourist beds has also increased at around 6% per annum: The government has actively encouraged tourism investment through initiatives such as the Plan Azur scheme, launched in 2001, aimed at boosting Morocco’s coastal resort offer. Unusually for any destination, the hinterland assets were fairly well known but the coastal offer was comparatively underdeveloped.
The Plan Azur has driven luxury resort development in specifically identified target locations on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts to balance the lodging offer with the established honeypots of Marrakech, Fez and Casablanca. No all the Plan Azur projects have enjoyed the same success, but the standouts today include both the Mazagan Beach and Golf Resort, located 75 km from Casablanca with a 500-room luxury hotel built by Kerzner International at a reported cost of US$370 million; and the 224-room luxury Lixus Beach Resort, 60 km south of Tangiers.
Then there’s Taghazout Bay Resort, which is probably the most exciting project within the portfolio right now, comprising a 27-hole Kyle Philip golf course (with more golf to follow in later phases), a beach club, tennis academy and football academy and a lodging offer that will comprise six luxury hotels including a Hyatt Regency, a Hilton and a 155-key Fairmont with 52 branded residential units situated on an expansive 18-hectare beachfront site.
The Fairmont has been designed by HKS to be a place where the vernacular language has been distilled into a contemporary, yet rooted architecture, creating a sophisticated and refined guest experience. Native colors and materials have been integrated into the design to capture the synergy of both place and space.
The Moroccan government has faced a series of challenges along the way with the Plan Azur, including the worst global economic downturn in decades, but its resolve and determination to work closely with private sector partners will be rewarded over the next few years as further exceptional hotels are added the country’s stellar portfolio, which already includes the richness and diversity of the Royal Mansour in Marrakech and Azalai Desert Camp.
Morocco may stand out from others in the class, but the truth is that the strengthening of the country’s tourism economy results from a combination of raw talent in the form of fabulous assets, but also sheer hard work and stubborn determination. The government is aware of the tourism sector’s sensitivity regarding security-related concerns and is quick to respond if matters arise; and the tourism development agency also makes a point of carefully highlighting the country’s stability as well as setting out a range of incentives designed to encourage inward investment.
As other North African and sub-Saharan nations sit up and take note, it will be fascinating to watch the continued growth of the lodging sector across the African continent as we head into the 2020s. The continent has so much to offer and we’re barely scraping the surface today.
Improved access and airlift will help to boost tourism inflows and slow but steady progress is being made to open-up the skies across the continent. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) projects that Africa will see an annual increase in air traffic of almost 5% over the next 20 years, and both investors and the major hotel brands are getting on board, so you can expect to hear of many more hotel development success stories across Africa in the next few years.