Tourism News – Morocco
August 13th, 2007 by Christina Putz
Reuters Africa published an article last month, stating that there has been a sudden fall in tourist visits to Morocco. For the last few years there seemed to have been a huge boom in the Marrakesh tourist industry. But all that was brought to a halt by what hotel managers and officials are calling an ‘increase in activity by Islamic militants’.
In March and April, seven suicide bombers bombed outside U.S. diplomatic buildings in Casablanca, killing several people. Locals claim that this set off a chain of events to give Morocco a bad image, including al Qaeda’s associate in Morocco threatening to widen its war against regional rulers and their Western ties. Officials also fear tourism future because the security alert was raised to the maximum level.
The target for 2010 is to boost the number of tourists to 10 million, but the fact that the number of tourists to Marrakesh was up only 1% does not bode well for that goal. Hotel bookings are predicted to drop anywhere from 20 to 50%, as well, because of recent fears.
I think this tourism decrease is temporal. Morocco is a beautiful country, with its ancient towns, coastal resorts and snowy peaks. This North African kingdom boasts 1,400 miles of coastline, year-round sunshine and an open invitation to tourists and investors all over the world. And especially Marrakech, it may be Morocco’s second city in terms of size – behind Casablanca with an official population of one million although unofficial figures suggest it’s closer to double that – however, it’s undoubtedly the most famous. And so central is its role, the name ‘Morocco’ actually derives from the city’s original name of ‘Marrakush’.