Morocco’s tourism boom masks growing economic strain

With the 2025 CAN and the 2030 World Cup on the Horizon, Morocco is accelerating the transformation of its tourism apparatus, but the influx this summer might prove more precarious.

The Kingdom’s Tourism Minister Fatim-Zahra Ammor insisted on June 17 in the House of Representatives that Moroccan tourism is “regaining its vitality,” according to Telquel. Her statements may have intended to praise the country’s resilience after COVID-19, but the growing demand could stress Rabat’s limited infrastructure and increasingly frustrated population.

Recovery efforts since 2020 have been substantially underpinned by the country’s vacation programs, which provide seasonal employment for locals. Now, as the 2025 CAN and the 2030 World Cup approaches, the government has been increasing investment in infrastructure to brace for the influx.

“The number of overnight stays in classified establishments reached 8.5 million in 2024,” Ammor noted, with domestic tourism making up 30% of that total. Between January and April 2025, the sector recorded over 2 million overnight stays, which is a 4% increase from the same period last year.

Touting a “record performance,” she spotlighted 5.7 million arrivals during the first four months of 2025 which is a 23% increase compared to last year, “these are very positive tourism indicators.”

But amid an otherwise tense economic climate, Rabat’s aggressive tourism push is increasing the strain on locals.

As summer rounds, prices are spiking in Morocco, especially around beaches. Ammor admits, just as she did last year, that the “demand exceeds supply” as hotels in Agadir, Essaouira, and Saïdia are routinely overbooked come July. While the minister called domestic tourism “a growing craze,” even mid-range accommodations have become unattainable for middle-income families.

To address this, she explained that “several measures have been included” in the Kingdom’s 6.1-billion-dirham development “roadmap,” launched in 2023. These additions are meant to diversify the options available to tourists “while guaranteeing quality and reasonable prices.”

Essentially, the addition, announced on June 10, allegedly establishes “strict specifications for quality… aligned with UN-Tourism specifications” and “a clear legal framework for gradually integrating those currently on the margins into the formal sector.”

Rabat hopes that this supply diversification will yield better price control. However, these claims echo ones made in 2024, in which Ammor claimed “Our strategy focuses on expanding supply and diversifying tourism products to meet the needs of our domestic market.”

While Rabat’s efforts are notable, frustration among locals is mounting, especially as the Kingdom still suffers from an underperforming economy.

Telquel/ Maghrebi