Morocco expects 2 milion Russian tourists by 2020

Morocco hopes to receive up to 2 million Russian tourists annually by 2020, the local mass media quoted Abdel Hamid Addou, Director General of Morocco National Tourist Office, as saying on Monday. “Russia still remains a market that Morocco’s tourism has to win over,” he said. For this purpose Morocco National Tourist Office launched a program that includes advertising and promotion of lucrative offers aimed at attracting more Russian guests. In 2011 around 30,000 tourists from Russia visited Morocco, but this year the Kingdom expects that their number will grow, Addou said. Morocco has been a favourable tourist destination for Europeans and Americans for a long time. In 2011 around 9.34 million foreign guests visited Morocco, which hit a new record for that country. Experts say that Morocco’s tourist sector managed to keep growth rates against the backdrop of the industry’s slowdown in North Africa, where the Arab Spring swept through some countries. According to statistics, legendary former imperial city of Marrakech, Morocco’s top resort of Agadir and the economic centre of Casablanca are most popular destinations among foreign travellers. More and more tourists visit Tangier, known as Morocco’s Golden Mile, and the medieval capital of Fes. Rabat that will mark the 100th anniversary of becoming that country’s administrative capital is also expected to register the influx of tourists this year. Traditionally Russian tourists prefer Morocco’s beach resorts.