Morocco’s tourism minister ranks 5th in Forbes MENA 2025

The Moroccan Tourism Minister, Fatim-Zahra Ammor, has apparently ranked fifth place in Forbes Middle East 2025’s Top 100 Travel and Tourism Leaders.

According to the Moroccan government friendly news outlet Hespress, three other Moroccan executives also made the list, those being Imad Barrakad of SMIT (Moroccan Agency for Tourism Development,) Abdelhamid Addou, CEO of Royal Air Maroc, and Adel El Fakir, leader of the Moroccan National Tourist Office.

The Forbes list is said to present the most influential figures in the MENA tourism sector, with annual rankings of leaders of anything from aviation and destinations to hospitality and public institutions.

At the helm of the lineup sits H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Emirates Airline & Group, followed by Fahd Hamidaddin of the Saudi Tourism Authority, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer of the Qatar Airways Group, and Saleh Mohammed Al Geziry (DCT Abu Dhabi.)

The news outlet claims Ammor is credited with overseeing 2024’s spike in tourism numbers where Morocco reportedly saw 17.4 million arrivals, making $11.2 billion in revenue. She purportedly launched key initiatives such as the Go Siyaha Program, the Cap Hospitality loan scheme, and Morocco’s tourism project bank.

As Maghrebi reported, the tourism minister recently told the House of Representatives that tourism is “regaining its vitality” after economic hardship because of COVID-19. “The number of overnight stays in classified establishments reached 8.5 million in 2024,” she stated, domestic tourism reportedly accounting for 30% of that figure.

The success has continued into 2025, with a record 5.7 million arrivals in the first third of the year, a 23% increase compared to 2024. However. the success still presents an issue, one that Ammor is very aware of, “demand exceeds supply.”

With summer bringing overcrowded and overbooked hotels in the likes of Agadir, Essaouira, and Saida, it seems Ammor is playing her part for the Moroccan economy while other sectors fall short.