25 Jul Interview with Imad Barrakad, Director General SMIT Morocco
How would you assess the performance of Morocco’s tourism sector? What major trends do you see emerging in the post-Covid sector?
Morocco’s tourism industry is evolving along two major axes. The first one is the increase of tourism demand, we’ve seen a substantial increase in visitors: 200% increase compared to Covid years, 35% more compared to 2019 and 25% increase compared to last year. This demonstrates Morocco’s growing attractiveness. In the second one, this increase in tourism demand impacts tourism investments positively. SMIT is the major player in catalyzing tourism development and helping investors and local authorities to attract more investors in the Kingdom of Morocco. The investment rates have remained above 8% over the last three years, with over 471 new hotels opening between 2021 and 2024. We now have around 4742 tourism hotel units, with a significant mix product which can respond to the wide range and needs of tourists positioning thus the destination as a medium to upscale one.
In the first half of 2024, several international brands like the Radison, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt opened their doors in Morocco. Furthermore, new entertainment projects such as amusement parks have emerged. This positive momentum promises a bright future for upcoming investment projects in the pipeline. This success reflects the ambitious 2023-2026 roadmap and the hard work laid by SMIT in previous years. This trend may allow us to be ready to hold major sporting events such as the upcoming African Cup in 2025 and the 2030 Soccer World Cup.
We have the ambition and the desire to welcome the world, to welcome travelers and to meet our international visitors’ requirements, with the one objective of providing travelers with picturesque and authentic experiences. Morocco offers culture, nature, yet we want to improve the quality of the experience, because it’s not just about attracting visitors once, but it’s about getting them to come back to Morocco again and again.
Can you give our readers an overview of SMIT’s various roles and its objectives?
Considering the importance of investment development in the growth of the tourism sector, the Moroccan government established a dedicated agency, The Moroccan agency for Tourism Development-SMIT, to support and enhance investment in the tourism sector. As a public government entity, SMIT assists global investors by offering tailored tourism opportunities and providing comprehensive guidance throughout the investment process. SMIT offers comprehensive support, from project conceptualization and pre-studies to the creation of robust business plans and facilitation of suitable land acquisitions. Additionally, SMIT fosters partnerships through its matchmaking initiatives.
Our strategy goes from a generalized offer to a thematic sector tourism experience approach. To boost the tourism sector we came with an approach focused on the tourism experience, moving from a logic of building destinations to a logic of building sectors. For example, in nature tourism sector, we offer trekking and hiking, we also have the desert & oasis adventure to complete and expand the authentic desert getaway offer; we also have the ocean waves, beaches and sun, the cultural path; in each of those sectors you’ll find a distinctive Moroccan touch, with Moroccan-style accommodation, riads in the Medinas, moussems festivals, crafts and local know-how or gastronomy and local products.
SMIT’s strategy revolves around creating unique tourism experiences and improving regional attractiveness through tourism engineering that offers us a better understanding of the territory. This involves signage, interpretation and enhancing stopping-off points. Through our product diversification, we aim to provide technical and financial support for both small-scale and large-scale entertainment projects. While accommodation serves as the production means for tourism by attracting visitors, it is entertainment that extends their stay. We are promoting 14 projects that will create significant turning points in various areas. For example, we look to attract investors to develop a dino-park in the Azilal area, which will act as a pivotal development for this region. These projects represent crucial turning points for their respective destinations.
We also act as a catalyst for accommodation development. It’s important to have future investors who can support us today in our roadmap and sporting events, as well as our current projects and existing assets. We are working on improving current facilities by focusing on hotels and destinations that are currently in poor condition. We have implemented mechanisms to encourage investors to renovate their hotels and acquire properties in need of renovation. Under these mechanisms, the government covers all bank interest payments. As part of our strategy, we’re promoting entertainment activities for both international and domestic tourists while also trying to maximize access to nature, making it a distinctive feature for travelers.
We are implementing a distinctive and sustainable management approach. Our aim is to promote tourism engineering that attracts sustainable investments, tailored to the type of product, the investor profile and the market we are targeting. The tools we have developed enable us to achieve sustainability. For instance, energy efficiency is a key criterion for obtaining subsidies. Sustainability also involves diversifying destinations beyond just Marrakech to include Chefchaouen, El Oualidia, Saidia and others. This reduces pressure on any single destination, promotes sustainability, decreases consumption and ensures wealth distribution.
SMIT focuses on improving the destination’s attractiveness for tourists and investors. SMIT’s work also involves promotion through international trade shows, conferences and roadshows, several incentives for entertainment, for accommodation, as well as incentives for our investors.
You’ve launched a 2023-2026 strategy that should have the greatest impact over the coming years. Could you briefly outline the main pillars of this strategy? Which segments or major projects are you planning to focus on in the coming years?
In order to relaunch the tourism dynamics, the Moroccan government launched a visionary approach Road Map that acknowledges the evolving landscape of global travel. The ambition through this national strategic roadmap for tourism 2023-2026 is to reach 17.5 million tourists in 2026, which should generate $12 billion of foreign currency revenue and create some 200,000 direct and indirect jobs. To achieve these goals, this vehicle aims to transform the tourism sector by acting on all the key levers, namely a new logic of supply articulated around the customer experience and structured around nine thematic sectors and five cross-cutting sectors; a plan to double air capacity and strengthen promotion and marketing, with a particular emphasis on the digital, as well as stimulating public/ private investment around priority levers including entertainment and ecotourism
The pillars of this strategy are based on improving the tourism experience by enhancing the attractiveness of destinations and improving the attractiveness of tourism investors. The first initiative we‘re working on is the Medina development programs. These projects are designed to create an authentic, distinctive and exclusive experience. Morocco is very active in this area, with over 10 Medinas recently launched which have now been equipped with signage, cultural facilities, urban activities and private investments in riads and gourmet restaurants. This is quite an ambitious program that is worth around €500 million and is nearly ready. Other ongoing projects include the creation of “small-scale animation” initiatives. We aim to establish 12 local companies that will attract approximately 2,000 tourism businesses to both urban and rural circuits that we’ve developed. In September, we’re launching a subsidized product for gamifying the tourism experience, targeting future investments. We’re also setting up a program to support young entrepreneurs integrating into tourist circuits and launching a major Moroccan gastronomy program.
In addition, we’re driving several exciting initiatives. We are looking for investors to develop a €300 million theme park in Marrakech. We are also seeking investors to develop an exhibition and convention center in Marrakech which needs an investment of about €100 million. In order to diversify the tourism offer, we are looking for investors in small scale projects to develop hot-air balloon projects and platforms in Marrakech. This is just a glimpse of the entertainment projects we’re developing in Marrakech. We invite investors to be a part of these groundbreaking initiatives.
We also have several projects focused on enhancing seaside tourism and increasing the appeal of our beaches. Our goal for the 2023-2026 period is to upgrade over 20 beaches within the overall program that include more than 100 beaches. We have ambitious resort projects on the beachfront, such as Taghazout in the north of Agadir Founty in the greater Agadir area and we are accelerating our investment pace.
We are conducting numerous investment promotion programs. For example, we have natural environment projects like the Ifrane National Park program that has been recently signed for more than €64 million. We are also promoting the Oukaïmeden resort near Marrakech with an investment of more than €27 million and a dinosaur-themed park in the Azilal region, where dinosaurs once lived. Additionally, we are working with operators in Europe and the Middle East to develop outdoor activities, including outdoor villages and vacation resorts. Our projects are highly diverse, covering various territories and we ‘re trying to catalyze this development to create an ambitious and attractive tourism product for Morocco.
How do you see the importance of the United States as a source market for Moroccan tourism and as an investor in tourism?
We’ve had American investors in Morocco for some time now and in general America is a major investment market for us. Morocco is just six hours by plane from the United States, so the Moroccan National Tourist Office (MNTO) is working hard to attract American visitors. Beyond that, Morocco’s current ambition is to attract American investors. Over the past ten years, we’ve attracted many operators, including Marriott, Hilton Hotels, Ritz-Carlton and IHG Hotels. Recently, Courtyard by Marriott, Hyatt and Radisson have also opened in Morocco. Moreover, we have a particular interest in investors in entertainment and animation. Many American investors are interested in large parks and we’re working with several of them to consider Morocco as a destination to invest in. In the past, we have conducted several roadshows in the United States; recently in New York we participated in an international conference where Morocco was in the spotlight and where we presented our investment opportunities to many major American stakeholders.
We are currently collaborating with The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions which is a big organization in the world of entertainment destinations and which plays a key role in supporting and promoting the global attractions industry. We are considering the opportunity to organize a conference on investment in entertainment. This sector is a priority for SMIT and we are actively seeking investment on it.
What kind of synergies do you hope to create, particularly with American investors, North American in particular?
Generally speaking, the United States has extensive expertise in tourism investment. It is the world’s leading market for both outbound and inbound tourism investment. From there, we can only work on creating synergies. We are working on removing obstacles associated with country risk. Morocco offers political stability, which American investors value. We have made significant progress to attract this market and the next steps involve turning this interest into concrete investments. We invite and support American investors and the language barrier that was an issue in the past is much lower today, as English is widely spoken in Morocco, especially in the administration. There are a lot of synergies to be established with them and we are coordinating a lot of actions with our local US embassy, with numerous initiatives planned for the coming months and years.
What is your longer-term vision for Morocco’s tourism industry and economy by 2030? What would you like to see develop in Morocco by 2030?
There are a few sectors where we are leaders in Africa and tourism is one of them. So our ambition is to be at the forefront in the Mediterranean region. We are close to Europe and we see countries like Spain and France achieving great performances in tourism. So we must wonder how we can get closer to these countries. We are not aiming for mass tourism; our focus is on quality, authentic and sustainable tourism. Our ambition is to ensure that Morocco remains a picturesque, authentic and sustainable destination rather than transforming into a mass tourism hotspot destination. Come to Morocco; the opportunities are here today, but they won’t last forever. First come, first served.