In addition to the fact that tourism in Agadir is still unable to take off, the tourism product continues to suffer from a large number of problems related to its positioning, the dilapidated hotel stock and the inadequacy of air connections. To this must be added a decline in investment in the sector and a clear lack of attractiveness.
Every time the debate around the destination of Agadir is sparked, the same issues are raised, given the transversal nature of the tourism ecosystem. The round table conference initiated at the beginning of this week at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services (CCIS) of Agadir by the Prefectural Coordination of the RNI Party therefore did not deviate from this rule.
This meeting, organized as part of the “RNI Ramadanyat” programme, focused on the deployment of the tourism roadmap on a regional scale. And apart from the fact that the tourism sector has still not been able to return to the level of the destination’s boom years, the tourism product continues to suffer from a multitude of problems mainly related to its positioning, to the deterioration of the hotel portfolio and the inadequacy of air quality. connections.
Added to this is a decline in tourism investment and a clear lack of attractiveness, which continues to tarnish the destination’s brand image. Although the destination Agadir clearly exceeded the one million visitor mark (1.2 million) during the 2023 tourist season, tourist visits were in turn characterized by a decline in the number of overnight stays. A trend that was observed throughout the previous year, including during the summer period. This represents a shortfall of approximately 366,510 nights, as the latter fell from 5.38 million in 2019 to 5.02 in 2023, just to mention the figures for this period.
Seaside resort status to be found
“The real problem with the destination of Agadir is that it has lost its status as a seaside resort. For the first time in its history, it will exceed 5.02 million nights in 2023, while the critical threshold for having this designation is 7.5 million nights,” says Saïd Scally, former president of the Souss-Massa Regional Tourism Council (CRT). He regrets that the destination has become a transit city with an average length of stay of just four nights. “However, our destination can quickly restore its status as a seaside resort if conditions are right.
Accommodation: There is an emergency
“The real problem at the moment is that of closed hotels, which hinders the marketing of seats and rooms for sale within the destination. Moreover, this problem, which is detrimental to the survival of the destination, must be resolved quickly.
Moreover, the issue of air travel remains relevant for point-to-point flights,” notes Khalil Tizniti, a professional and tourism operator. For him, without a quality product, especially in the hotel sector, tourism promotion cannot do wonders for the destination and the planes will not be properly filled despite strong demand. The expert also emphasizes the need to work on restoring the winter position, which previously offered an occupancy rate comparable to that in summer.
Focus more on the hinterland
This roundtable on the deployment of the tourism roadmap at regional level was held in a context where the contract for the regional tourism program is being finalized, after several revisions, with an exclusive focus on the coast. The participants did not fail to take on the challenge of air transport to a destination that is no longer served from the German, Dutch, Russian and Scandinavian markets (Sweden, Denmark, Norway).
Under such conditions, the seasonality that also characterizes the national market could not compensate for the loss of these markets in addition to the focus on priority markets, in particular France, Great Britain and Germany. All this has presented the destination with a fait accompli: the abandonment of these markets, which were Agadir’s heyday.
“The destination of Agadir cannot be sold without the hinterland, which is a tourist complement to the coastal product,” emphasizes Abdelhakim Sabri, vice president of the Rural Tourism Development Network (RDTR).
“Rural tourism is a niche activity that still needs to be developed because the various strategies have not allowed to develop this tourism, including the current tourism road map that has not taken into account the development of rural tourism potential,” he adds. .
In addition to questions about infrastructure and product development, regional tourism stakeholders have also raised the issue of destination branding. For them it is necessary to change the name of the region from “Souss-Massa” to “Agadir Souss-Massa”. The argument put forward: better territorial marketing in the service of regional attractiveness.
Yassine Saber / ECO inspirations
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