In the best of times, not more than 150,000 Britons make it to Morocco in any given year. In 2003 some 134,000 British tourists went to Morocco. That was less than the 146,000 of the previous year. Britons are particularly sensitive to political events, and certainly much more than their French counterparts, which makes their choice of vacation spots very selective. Right after the 2003 terror attack in Casablanca, nearly all British travel agents canceled all scheduled trips to Morocco. The British Foreign Office also issued an advisory note advising against the Morocco destination. And when Morocco's tourism officials sought to correct the perceptions on their country, their discussions with British travel professionals were difficult and frustrating at times.
But aware of the potential to grow that market, Morocco has managed to with some British partners to promote the Morocco destination, and this week two events are likely to help boost Morocco as a vacation destination for British holidaymakers.
First, there is British Airways which is intensifying its service between London and Morocco. The carrier has just received authorization to link London to the imperial city of Fez, with two weekly flights slated to begin in October. BA currently maintains a daily flight from London Heathrow to Casablanca, via Marrakech.
For its winter program, BA will offer two direct flights to Marrakech and Agadir, bringing BA's weekly service to the North African country to 11 flights.
Tourism is the main driver in BA's decision to strengthen its service to Morocco, in particularly as Britain is relatively close to Morocco where tourists tend to stay for short periods. Fez is also seen as a key destination for Britons.
As for fares, many expect them to slightly decrease as a result of the use of new pricing methods and the expected rise in passenger traffic.
Then on July 28, the Moroccan government signed an agreement with the British travel organizer First Choice to boost the Morocco destination among British tourists. The agreement is considered by the Moroccan authorities as important judging by the presence of senior officials during the signing ceremony, including tourism minister Adil Douri, transport minister Karim Ghellab and the newly appointed head of the Moroccan tourism board, the Office National Marocain du Tourisme ONMT. Indeed this event may mark a change in the perception among travel agents from Britain and could create opportunities for Morocco to attract new holidaymakers.
This agreement is one of the various that the government of Morocco recently signed with leading travel operators from other European countries. Similar contracts were finalized and are being implemented with agencies from France, Belgium, Germany and Spain.
The accord with First Choice relates to the city of Agadir. As part of the agreement, First Choice Airways, the airline unit of the company will establish charter flights to that city as of November 1, 2004, with departure from London and Manchester. The company will make 16,000 seats available for the Agadir destination for the 2004-2005 season, before upping it to 53,000 in the following year. First Choice and ONMT will launch joint marketing campaigns to compete against the Egyptian and Tunisian destinations.
© The North Africa Journal 2004
