Morocco has achieved a historic milestone in tourism having recorded 14.6 million arrivals as of the end of October, surpassing the total number of arrivals for all of 2023 in just the first ten months of this year, Minister of Tourism Fatim-Zahra Ammor announced in Dakhla on Wednesday. She credited the effective execution of Morocco’s 2023-2026 Tourism Roadmap.
Speaking at the signing of a new memorandum between the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) and Ryanair, she revealed plans for two new direct flight routes connecting Dakhla to Madrid, Spain, and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, starting in January 2025.
Tourism this year has risen a significant 19% over the same period in 2023, with 2.3 million more visitors. This includes a 22% surge in foreign tourists (+1.3 million) and a 16% increase in Moroccan expatriate visitors (+1 million).
October 2024 was a particularly strong month, with 1.5 million tourists, reflecting an impressive 30% increase over October 2023. The city of Dakhla, dubbed the “Pearl of the South,” has seen rising tourist numbers and increased hotel occupancy, reporting 250,000 overnight stays in September—a 26% increase over last year—and a 7-point increase in hotel occupancy, now at 40%.
Dakhla has become increasingly accessible, now offering three weekly flights from Paris—one by Royal Air Maroc and two by Transavia—as well as two weekly flights from Las Palmas via Binter Canaria. The two new flight routes launching in January will add approximately 16,000 seats, increasing total air capacity by 50%.
Minister Ammor highlighted that these developments further Morocco’s objective to establish four international flight routes to Dakhla over the next two years.