Morocco sees an 8% increase in overnight stays in Marrakech in the first half of this year

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Morocco’s Tourism Observatory reported an 8% increase in overnight stays in Marrakech in the first half of this year compared to overnight stays in 2018.

The observatory recorded 3,967,857 overnight hotel stays from January to June, compared to 3,669,212 in the same time period last year.

Hotel occupancy rates were also much higher, with a 63% occupancy rate in hotels during the period, compared to just 58% last year.

The ochre city of Marrakech has long been one of Morocco’s most popular tourist destinations, with the number of tourist increases every year. In the first 11 months of 2018, a whopping 2.4 million tourists flocked to the city.

However, with the growth in tourism, the city has gained a reputation for overcharging and other scams, particularly in Jemaa El Fna square, an area that is immensely popular with tourists.

As a result, the wali (governor) of Marrakech is taking firm measures to tackle the problem and has launched a crackdown on overcharging restaurant owners, pushy snake charmers, henna tattooists, taxi drivers, and vendors who may spoil tourists’ experience at Marrakech.

Additionally, the city booked 39 taxis this year for overcharging, as well as seven restaurants and 70 street vendors.

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