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At the beginning of 2024, North Africa’s tourism landscape is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Morocco is emerging as the new flagship destination, surpassing Egypt in terms of visitor numbers for the first time. This development marks a major turning point in regional tourism dynamics.
Data for the first half of 2024 show significant growth for the Sharif Kingdom. Morocco received 7.4 million tourists, up 14% year-on-year. June was particularly notable, welcoming a record influx of 1.5 million tourists, up 10% year-on-year and 38% compared to the pre-pandemic reference year of 2019.
This outstanding performance far exceeds initial forecasts. The surplus of 909,000 tourists in the first six months of the year is already equivalent to the target for the whole year of 2024. These results highlight the effectiveness of the strategy adopted by Morocco to enhance its tourist attractiveness, in particular by improving its aviation infrastructure.
Egypt, despite the ouster of the regime, maintained its position with 7.069 million visitors in the first half of the year. Despite ongoing challenges from regional tensions and the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on seaside tourism, the country has shown remarkable resilience. Diversification of emissions markets, particularly towards China, India and Saudi Arabia, has helped mitigate the negative impact on the sector.
Tunisia showed encouraging signs of recovery. Tourism revenues grew by 7.8% to 2.1 billion dinars in the first five months of 2024. Although this figure is still lower than the record of 6.7 billion dollars set last year, it reflects positive dynamics, supported by the continued promotion and development of infrastructure.
The outlook for the region in the second half of 2024 looks promising. The approach of the summer peak season means new records for tourist arrivals, especially in the Maghreb. This positive trend is part of the general backdrop of a post-Covid-19 tourism recovery, with controlled inflation favouring purchasing power and a boost to leisure spending.
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