Could you describe the vision for 2020 – origins, implications for tourism in Morocco? What is the general meaning and the historical background for this vision?

Vision 2020 is the extension of our national tourism strategy that started 10 years ago and at that time was called Vision
2010. Tourism in Morocco had a proactive strategy launched with several structural measures being taken over the past years. It was a very serious and dynamic vision, which allowed us to double the number of tourists – from 4 million in 2004 to roughly 10 million in 2010, to triple the income of the sector, to double the bed capacity in Morocco and to position tourism today as one of the main economy sectors in Morocco representing roughly 10% of its GDP.

It is a robust model, as we could see in 2008-2009, which was the most difficult time during the economic crisis. While we were seeing regression everywhere in the Mediterranean countries – from 2.5% in Tunisia to 10% in Spain, Morocco was the only country that recorded a 6% progression, thus proving that it is a strong and resilient model of betting on the high quality tourism. An average spending for a tourist in Morocco is around 800$, while, for example, in Tunisia it is 250$, and that again confirms what I was saying previously. We are in a different model so we are not in the position to catch flows coming from our neighbouring countries.

Vision 2020 comes to capitalize what has been done during 2010, but also to learn from the mistakes and improve. A new dynamic has been projected and a high ambition – to position Morocco within the best 20 tourism countries in the world. This will be done by tripling the income of the sector, increasing its GDP shares and, last but not least, creating employment. The target is to have more than a million young people working directly in the tourism sector and 4-5 times more than that indirectly.

2020 is based on three main principles: The first one is diversity – thanks to the diversity of the country, you could go to the Mediterranean Sea, to the Sahara, to the mountains, you can even ski 45 minutes from Marrakech, enjoy the cedar forests, the dunes, the Atlas Mountains. You have big diversity and proximity, as you can move from one place to another within few hours and completely change the natural environment.

Within two hours you could go from the 4000 m high snowy Atlas Mountains and find yourself in the dunes of the South of Morocco. The second thing is culture and authenticity and this is what will make us strong and different as a destination compared to our neighbour competitors.

The last one is sustainability – it is the heart of the Moroccan strategy environment, the friendly approach to the sector. We have virgin beaches, a lot of virgin forests and we aim to capitalize on that. That, again, is another way of making the destination different from others around the Mediterranean.