TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Morocco accelerates tourism strategy by adding 25,000 hotel rooms

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2026

The rooms will be added at an ‘unprecedented’ scale and speed ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco is co-hosting.

Morocco is continuing its strategy to position itself as a premier global tourist destination by unveiling a plan to add 25,000 new hotel rooms ahead of the country co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

The rooms will be added via 700 planned projects in the country’s major cities, with funding coming from various investors. Around 15% of the new properties will be operated by international hotel brands.

Imad Barrakad, head of the Moroccan Agency for Tourism Development (known as SMIT), told Bloomberg news agency that the scale and speed of the initiative is unprecedented in the country’s history.

Photo: MAG Photography from Pexels

In his statement to Bloomberg, Barrakad pointed to a shift in strategy, moving away from a focus on visitor numbers toward a model that values quality and long-term impact.

“Morocco is concentrating on attracting the right investors for the right projects, guided by a vision that will endure over time,” he stated.

The North African nation had almost 20-million visitors in 2025 and earned approximately US$14.8-billion in tourism revenue.

Upgrade the country’s hospitality and leisure sectors

Its tourism development strategy, unveiled last year and spearheaded by the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism, aims to significantly upgrade and expand the country’s hospitality and leisure sectors.

Key components of the initiative include the construction of brand-new hotel complexes tailored to international standards, the development of world-class amusement parks, and the extensive modernisation of more than 62,000 hotel rooms across the kingdom.

The strategy envisages the 2030 soccer World Cup, which Morocco is co-hosting with Spain and Portugal, serving as a catalyst for large-scale investments.

Morocco has committed to upgrading stadiums, transport networks and urban infrastructure to accommodate the expected influx of global visitors. These projects aim to support the tournament and leave a lasting impact on Morocco’s cities.

Speaking at the time of the tourism development strategy launch in 2025, Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Morocco’s Minister of Tourism, noted: “This is more than just a World Cup preparation; it’s a nationwide transformation of our tourism industry.

“We aim to create lasting value, not only for visitors but for Moroccan citizens who will benefit from job creation, economic growth and enhanced infrastructure.”

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