Hotel development in Morocco, Spain on Alert – Today Morocco

The concentration of investments by major hotel chains in the Kingdom is particularly worrying in the Canary Islands

Alarm in the Canary Islands. This is one of the headlines in recent days in the Spanish press commenting on the performance of the hotel sector in North Africa. One player stands out in this region. It is clear that Morocco is starting to seriously overshadow Spain in general and the Canary Islands in particular in terms of investment. The five major hotel chains worldwide, such as Accor, Hilton, Intercontinental (IHG), Marriott and Radisson, are focusing on developing tourism in the region with the announcement of the development of 361 hotels in the coming years. When destinations such as Egypt or Tunisia are affected by the plans of international hotel chains, Morocco accounts for a large share of the announced openings. Of the 361 hotels, no fewer than 161 locations are planned in the Kingdom.

For the Spanish press, the new openings announced will allow the destination Morocco to increase its nest capacity by 100,000 new beds. It must be said that announcements from major hotel groups for the destination Morocco are increasing. This is the case of the Accor Group, which announced at the beginning of 2024 a new plan for the opening of approximately ten new hotels in Moroccan tourist cities over a period of two years. For the occasion, the group organized a trip for Moroccan journalists to meet Patrick Mendes, Accor’s Managing Director for Europe and North Africa, at the group’s headquarters in Paris.

The latter plans to sign management contracts for hotels already operational or hotels under construction with the introduction or return to Morocco of new brands of the French group such as Mercure, Tribe and Handscribe, mainly in important tourist destinations in the Kingdom such as Dakhla, Tangier, Ouarzazate and Fes. The American hotel group Radisson, in turn, shows the ambition to double its presence in Morocco. The group plans to expand its current portfolio of 11 properties, consisting of active hotels and projects under development, to 25 units by 2030.

This strategy led to the expansion of the responsibilities of Erwan Garnier, senior development director, now also for Morocco. “The main objective lies in strengthening our presence in Casablanca and Marrakech, where we already manage the Radisson Blu Hotel, Casablanca City Center, as well as the renowned Radisson Blu Hotel, Marrakech Carré Eden. In addition, we plan to establish ourselves in the strategic cities of Rabat, Tangier, Agadir and Fez,” said the senior director of development for Africa within the Radisson Hotel Group. And to specify that “as part of our five-year plan and in anticipation of the 2030 FIFA World Cup in Morocco, these cities represent significant potential for the development of a diversified portfolio, including ideally located business hotels, serviced apartments, luxury apartments, projects for mixed use and the expansion of our offering to exceptional hotel complexes.

Spanish groups too
The development of the hotel industry in Morocco has reached such a level that even Spanish groups are becoming involved. For example, Barceló Hotel Group, which has been active in Morocco since 2006, announced a few months ago an investment of more than 80 million euros in the purchase and future renovation of two five-star hotels in Casablanca and Rabat, previously marketed under the Farah brand . , with 279 and 192 rooms respectively. The Iberian group introduces the luxury brand Royal Hideaway in Morocco and should soon be present in the country through its four brands: Royal Hideaway, Barceló, Occidental and Allegro.

On this occasion, the CEO of the EMEA region of the said group, Raúl González, said: “Our goal is to continue developing in the country and adding new hotels to our portfolio, mainly 4 and 5 star hotels, both in the regional holiday segment and in the urban segment, where we are already present, but also in new destinations. The Spanish group Hotusa, through its hotel chain Eurostars Hotel Company, has just announced the opening of three hotels in Morocco in 2024 and 2025. The first hotel, Eurostars Casa Anfa, located in the new center of Casablanca, will open its doors in the autumn, the group said in a press release.

The chain also plans to open Eurostars Californie in the same city at the end of 2024 and the Exe Zerktouni in mid-2025, which will bring the total number of rooms on offer to 251, the same source said. The three branches, all newly built, are located in strategic areas of the city, Hotusa noted. “Morocco thus becomes the twentieth country where the Eurostars Hotel Company chain is present and expands its international portfolio of properties in leading tourist areas,” the group underlined. “The next openings in Casablanca represent the first step in our growth plan in North Africa, one of the chain’s key areas of international importance, along with Western Europe, the United States and Latin America,” said the president of the Hotusa Group, Amancio. López, quoted in the press release.

Tourism operators are attracted by the country’s good performance in this area. According to the Directorate of Financial Studies and Forecasts (DEPF), tourist arrivals in Morocco reached 3.3 million people at the end of the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 12.8% compared to the same period a year earlier. “For the beginning of 2024, the main indicators of the tourism sector (arrivals and overnight stays) continue their momentum. The flow of arrivals to the destination “Morocco” increased by 12.8% at the end of the first quarter of 2024, thanks to the performances of March, February and January 2024 (+10.2, +17, 9 and + respectively 10.4% )”, the DEPF indicates in its recent economic report.

By segment, this progress is due to the increase in the number of foreign tourist arrivals by 15.4% and that of Moroccans living abroad (MRE) by 9.8%, the same source said. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, the number of arrivals in Morocco has consolidated by 31.6%, the DEPF reports.

Global 2030

Mobilization. The Minister of Tourism, Crafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatim-Zahra Ammor, assured that her department is fully mobilized to welcome the teams and the public in the best conditions during the 2030 Football World Cup. “As a department of tourism, the challenge is in the accommodation capacity of both the FIFA teams and the public,” she underlined in a statement to the press after a meeting expanded as part of the preparations for the organization of the 2030 World Cup and dedicated to coordination between all ministerial departments involved , to establish a unified system of joint collective action and to achieve an integrated roadmap. The Minister further indicated that this meeting was attended by all departments involved in the organization of the 2030 World Cup, as well as territorial officials, in order to determine in particular the needs. The departments involved “will work hand in hand with a team spirit to be ready for the application file in July, but also to organize this event that will allow Morocco to shine at the international level,” the minister concluded.