Haddad: Morocco expects an increase of 7 per cent of tourist arrivals in 2014
: Morocco expects an increase of 7 per cent of tourist arrivals in 2014, Tourism Minister, Lahcen Haddad, announced on Monday night in Casablanca that the Kingdon expects an increase of 7 per cent in the number of tourist arrivals in 2014, which promises to be a year of growth for this sector in Morocco.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Haddad-Morocco-...
Despite difficult economic conditions at the national level (suspension of several flights including Ryanair) and international (the Arab Spring and the global financial crisis), the national tourism could, nevertheless, keep its head up finishing the year 2012 with a growth of 2 pc.He congratulated the Minister on the presentation of achievements of the Moroccan Tourism Engineering Company (SMIT) in the year 2012 and its Action Plan for the year 2013.
Not excluding a stagnation in the number of overnight stays and tourism receipts, Mr. Haddad said he was optimistic about the growth in arrivals in 2013, with the expected recovery including the traditional markets of Morocco, Spanish and French, particular.
This must coincide with the implementation of a strategy for the development of the aviation sector, and the opening of new international markets, among others, Eastern Europe, China, the Gulf States and Brazil which are emerging markets, positioning Morocco as one of the most popular destinations during this year, he said.
Of its powers and in the context of Vision 2020, the SMIT plays an important role in the development of tourism in Morocco, through the support of the State in the implementation of the national strategy for tourism development Mr. Haddad also stressed, adding that since its inception in 2007, the Company contributed to the initiation and completion of several projects.
For his part, the CEO of SMIT, Mr. Imad Barrakad, stated that the company is aware of the magnitude of the tasks assigned to it in the context of Vision 2020, has opted for a new organization advocating specialisation of these areas of activities, including acquiring resources and an effective system of control and monitoring of tourism placing the public-private partnership at the heart of its development strategy.
In terms of investment, he noted that several projects were completed for a total of 14 billion dirhams (dirhams) which will eventually create 4,400 direct jobs and 10,300 extra beds. These projects will emerge in several regions of Morocco, he added.
The year 2012 was also distinguished by the finalisation of consultations for the development of Regional Programs Contracts (CPR) and the start of construction of the station Mehdia by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, he said, noting that all CPR were validated by stakeholders, ie 940 projects for a total of 153 billion dirhams.
Regarding the action plan for the year 2013, SMIT will pursue actions initiated in engineering by achieving a score of technical feasibility studies and financial structuring projects of Vision 2020, said Mr. Barrakad, adding that these studies cover projects with a total capacity of 35,880 tourist beds and mobilize a total investment of 38 billion dirhams.
The promotion activity for SMIT year will, in turn, be on a targeted solicitation for investment structuring projects of Vision 2020, including participation in exhibitions dedicated to tourism investment in scale national and international levels, and through the production of road show to communicate about investment opportunities in the Kingdom with new reputable investors including Great Britain, the United States of America and some Asian countries , he said.
In order to sustain the momentum of tourism investment, the SMIT will form in 2013 as part of a proactive marketing, canvassing direct target investors with the investment objective of fifteen projects for total investment of 20 billion dirhams and a capacity of around 17,000 beds, he added.
Founded in December 2007, SMIT is the initiator of several innovative projects. It operates both at the level of investment promotion in the development of tourism products through an integrated and focused policy.
As an actor in the field of engineering and tourism development, it develops general or specific studies on supply and tourism demand in Morocco, through the realization of projects that give new life to the State intervention in this area by stimulating private initiative and encouraging public-private partnership
Several tourism projects were completed in 2012 for a total of 14 billion dirhams, the Ministry of Tourism announced in a press report.
The investment will ultimately create 4,400 direct jobs and 10,300 additional beds, according to the same source.
Development of tourism, an additional capacity of 7,000 new beds was put into operation during the year 2012 in different cities of the Kingdom, creating over 3,000 direct jobs, says it well source.
Similarly, it has been reclassified more than 3,500 hotel beds in the framework of the ongoing process of the ministry, to structure the offer tourist accommodation.
Thus, Morocco has been able to sustain a stable position on the international tourism scene, with a number of tourists at the end of November 2012 around 10 million tourists.
Concerning the implementation of the Plan Azur, the Department has conducted studies repositioning to accelerate the achievement of planned resorts.
To operationalize the implementation of various projects in tourist areas, contracts regional programs (CPR) were finalized in consultation with all stakeholders during the year 2012. Thus, all CPR were validated and their signatures will be formalized during 2013.
With regard to domestic tourism, particular importance is given to the development of an offer domestic tourists, notably through the launch of construction of the third station in Mehdia Biladi Plan in September 2012.
In the development of human resources in the sector, the study repositioning institutions ministry training was completed in 2012, when new training courses for tour guides were initiated.
For monitoring sustainability in the sector, the Ministry has set up a monitoring sustainability indicators, in collaboration with the Department of Environment.
Training sessions and awareness campaigns were organized for professionals and an E-Learning program on sustainable tourism, environmental protection and energy efficiency has been put at their disposal.
A pilot monitoring of sustainability will be launched in 2013 in collaboration with the regional observatory of Marrakech.
In improving the quality of tourism to align with international standards, the Ministry of Tourism has established a plan of action in particular to improve the reception at UK airports and professionalize the trades guide and information to tourists, in partnership with relevant institutions.
To ensure the emergence and consolidation of a network of SMEs dynamic and modern, the Ministry has established with the National Agency for the Promotion of SMEs (ANPME), a support system with a budget of 420 million dirhams (DH) over 8 years.
These flagships "Moussanada Siyaha" and "Imtiaz Siyaha" that address the three traditional trades, ie accommodation, tourist transport and distribution.
In addition, the Fund Rénovotel was launched in the year 2012 with a budget of 500 million dirhams to support the upgrading of hotels, according to a quality approach.
Governance of the sector, organizational texts have been prepared and consultations with various departments concerned were conducted in order to proceed to the creation in 2013 of the first two touristic development agencies (ADT) at Marrakech and Agadir.
These have the ADT mission piloting the implementation of contracts Âœuvre regional programs in their territories
Not excluding a stagnation in the number of overnight stays and tourism receipts, Mr. Haddad said he was optimistic about the growth in arrivals in 2013, with the expected recovery including the traditional markets of Morocco, Spanish and French, particular.
This must coincide with the implementation of a strategy for the development of the aviation sector, and the opening of new international markets, among others, Eastern Europe, China, the Gulf States and Brazil which are emerging markets, positioning Morocco as one of the most popular destinations during this year, he said.
Of its powers and in the context of Vision 2020, the SMIT plays an important role in the development of tourism in Morocco, through the support of the State in the implementation of the national strategy for tourism development Mr. Haddad also stressed, adding that since its inception in 2007, the Company contributed to the initiation and completion of several projects.
For his part, the CEO of SMIT, Mr. Imad Barrakad, stated that the company is aware of the magnitude of the tasks assigned to it in the context of Vision 2020, has opted for a new organization advocating specialisation of these areas of activities, including acquiring resources and an effective system of control and monitoring of tourism placing the public-private partnership at the heart of its development strategy.
In terms of investment, he noted that several projects were completed for a total of 14 billion dirhams (dirhams) which will eventually create 4,400 direct jobs and 10,300 extra beds. These projects will emerge in several regions of Morocco, he added.
The year 2012 was also distinguished by the finalisation of consultations for the development of Regional Programs Contracts (CPR) and the start of construction of the station Mehdia by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, he said, noting that all CPR were validated by stakeholders, ie 940 projects for a total of 153 billion dirhams.
Regarding the action plan for the year 2013, SMIT will pursue actions initiated in engineering by achieving a score of technical feasibility studies and financial structuring projects of Vision 2020, said Mr. Barrakad, adding that these studies cover projects with a total capacity of 35,880 tourist beds and mobilize a total investment of 38 billion dirhams.
The promotion activity for SMIT year will, in turn, be on a targeted solicitation for investment structuring projects of Vision 2020, including participation in exhibitions dedicated to tourism investment in scale national and international levels, and through the production of road show to communicate about investment opportunities in the Kingdom with new reputable investors including Great Britain, the United States of America and some Asian countries , he said.
In order to sustain the momentum of tourism investment, the SMIT will form in 2013 as part of a proactive marketing, canvassing direct target investors with the investment objective of fifteen projects for total investment of 20 billion dirhams and a capacity of around 17,000 beds, he added.
Founded in December 2007, SMIT is the initiator of several innovative projects. It operates both at the level of investment promotion in the development of tourism products through an integrated and focused policy.
As an actor in the field of engineering and tourism development, it develops general or specific studies on supply and tourism demand in Morocco, through the realization of projects that give new life to the State intervention in this area by stimulating private initiative and encouraging public-private partnership
Several tourism projects were completed in 2012 for a total of 14 billion dirhams, the Ministry of Tourism announced in a press report.
The investment will ultimately create 4,400 direct jobs and 10,300 additional beds, according to the same source.
Development of tourism, an additional capacity of 7,000 new beds was put into operation during the year 2012 in different cities of the Kingdom, creating over 3,000 direct jobs, says it well source.
Similarly, it has been reclassified more than 3,500 hotel beds in the framework of the ongoing process of the ministry, to structure the offer tourist accommodation.
Thus, Morocco has been able to sustain a stable position on the international tourism scene, with a number of tourists at the end of November 2012 around 10 million tourists.
Concerning the implementation of the Plan Azur, the Department has conducted studies repositioning to accelerate the achievement of planned resorts.
To operationalize the implementation of various projects in tourist areas, contracts regional programs (CPR) were finalized in consultation with all stakeholders during the year 2012. Thus, all CPR were validated and their signatures will be formalized during 2013.
With regard to domestic tourism, particular importance is given to the development of an offer domestic tourists, notably through the launch of construction of the third station in Mehdia Biladi Plan in September 2012.
In the development of human resources in the sector, the study repositioning institutions ministry training was completed in 2012, when new training courses for tour guides were initiated.
For monitoring sustainability in the sector, the Ministry has set up a monitoring sustainability indicators, in collaboration with the Department of Environment.
Training sessions and awareness campaigns were organized for professionals and an E-Learning program on sustainable tourism, environmental protection and energy efficiency has been put at their disposal.
A pilot monitoring of sustainability will be launched in 2013 in collaboration with the regional observatory of Marrakech.
In improving the quality of tourism to align with international standards, the Ministry of Tourism has established a plan of action in particular to improve the reception at UK airports and professionalize the trades guide and information to tourists, in partnership with relevant institutions.
To ensure the emergence and consolidation of a network of SMEs dynamic and modern, the Ministry has established with the National Agency for the Promotion of SMEs (ANPME), a support system with a budget of 420 million dirhams (DH) over 8 years.
These flagships "Moussanada Siyaha" and "Imtiaz Siyaha" that address the three traditional trades, ie accommodation, tourist transport and distribution.
In addition, the Fund Rénovotel was launched in the year 2012 with a budget of 500 million dirhams to support the upgrading of hotels, according to a quality approach.
Governance of the sector, organizational texts have been prepared and consultations with various departments concerned were conducted in order to proceed to the creation in 2013 of the first two touristic development agencies (ADT) at Marrakech and Agadir.
These have the ADT mission piloting the implementation of contracts Âœuvre regional programs in their territories
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Haddad-Morocco-...