Morocco will exhibit its touristic assets and cultural specificities at the 40th edition of ITB Berlin, a meeting place for countries to exhibit their touristic potentialities. The event will take place in March 8-12, reported MAP news agency.
The Moroccan stand, which will cover 300 m, will be characterised by local architectural specificities. The Moroccan craftsmen exhibitions will be accompanied by music of Gnawa and tea serving ceremonies.
Seven regional and provincial centres as well as representatives from five groups of hotels and travel agencies will be presenting Morocco in the event.
The Minister of tourism and the director of the Moroccan National Office of Tourism (ONMT) will also head for Berlin to participate in the workshops and meet specialised media.
ITB Berlin organisers announced that in the 2006 edition, over 10,500 exhibitors will come from 180 countries. Greece will be the guest of honour of this 40th edition, which will also be marked by the first participation of India.
Morocco has signed several cooperation agreements in the field, which reflect the kingdom's will to promote its image on the international level.
Aware of the fact that tourism contributes to the revitalisation of economic activity and social development of the country, Morocco is sparing no efforts to promote the field.
The Moroccan government and a group of investors from the Canary Islands signed on Feb. 2 several cooperation conventions. The agreements aim at encouraging investment in the field of equipment, sea transport, tourism, and fishing, particularly in the country's Southern provinces.
The agreements include the signing of a memorandum with the Ministry of Tourism and handicraft to create a tourist complex in the town of Tarfaya.
A convention was also signed with the Ministry of Equipment and Transport on the trading quay and a structure intended to receive passengers and the whole carters at the port of Tarfaya.
The convention also includes the planning of a boating basin, a natural club, an area of recreation and leisure at this port.
Following an international invitation launched by the Ministry of Tourism, Handicraft and Social Economy for the planning and the development of Taghazout's station (one of the six stations of the Azur Plan), the Consortium Colony Capital- Satocan-Lopesan, the American investor, Colony Capital, and some operators of the Canary Islands, has obtained the best assessment.
The consortium will start negotiations with the Moroccan state to conclude a convention concerning the development of this station.
The planning project concerning Taghazout's station aims at building an accommodation capacity of about 21,000 beds, including around 16,000 hotel beds, as well as 2 golf courses and several projects related to leisure, entertainment, and handicraft trade.
The objective of this project is to create about 9,000 direct jobs and 45,000 indirect ones.
The Colony Capital, which is specialized in tourism and property, is an institutional investor whose headquarters are set up in Los Angeles.
It owns, among others, the station of the "Costa Smeralda" in Sardinia, the Asian luxury hotel chain: Raffles, as well as numerous luxury hotels and tourist unit or real estate.
The Satocan Lopesan Group is the undisputed leader of tourism in the Canary Islands. The group is vertically integrated: construction, hotel trade, air transport (Air Binter) and tour organisations. It has control over about 20,000 hotel beds in the Canary Islands, in Spain and in the Dominican Republic.
The ONMT has also signed a partnership convention in February with Casanet, a subsidiary of "Maroc Tlcom", to establish a mobile information service designed to improve the tourist's experience in Morocco by facilitating the search for information through the mobile telephone.
The tourist will be able to have in his mobile phone all information related to accommodation, catering, and travel agencies.
This information will be passed on via 3 access modes: WAP, SMS and SVI (Interactif Vocal System) which will be available right from March 31.
By Oumnia Guedda
© Morocco Times 2006
