Several major Spanish hotels are actively working to strengthen their presence in Morocco, capitalizing on the country’s booming tourism that flourished tremendously in 2023, reported Spanish newspaper “El Pais.”
Iberian giants such as Barceló, Riu, Iberostar, and Meliá have chosen Morocco to expand their operations and leverage the Kingdom’s tourist assets. With already 18 Spanish hotels established in Morocco, the additional four companies aim to further expand their footprint in this market.
Morocco’s political and social stability is the main magnet attracting these hoteliers, besides the unprecedented figure of 13.2 million tourists that visited the country in the first 11 months of 2023, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 figures of 12.9 million visitors (2019).
These numbers make Morocco an attractive investment market with a growing potential for hotel businesses. Barceló, for instance, is heavily investing in the Kingdom, operating eight hotels in six Moroccan cities (Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Tangier, Fez, and Agadir) with over 1,200 direct jobs. The group also plans to launch new 4 and 5-star hotels.
“El Pais” reported that the group announced in October an investment of over 80 million euros for the acquisition and renovation of two five-star hotels in Casablanca and Rabat.
Riu, a hotel chain operating in Morocco since 2002, boasts two hotels and a palace in Agadir, two others in Marrakech, and one in Taghazout. Iberostar, which is managing three hotels in Morocco, notes positive growth especially from European markets like the UK, Germany, and France.
With a hotel in Marrakech, Meliá expects a strong performance in 2024, while the Majorcan hotel chain explores new opportunities and projects in Morocco to further expand its presence.
This influx of Spanish hotels into the Moroccan market also includes smaller groups such as Inveravante, which owns five hotels in Tangier and Casablanca.