Morocco Aims to Double Tourist Inflow From India by Next Year

Morocco is aiming to attract twice the number of tourists from India by 2019. The country is planning to set up a tourism office in New Delhi in the next three months to facilitate the goal.

About 21,850 Indians and people of Indian origin visited Morocco in 2017. “We expect to more than double this number by 2019. For this we are taking a number of steps,” the ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mohamed Maliki, told the Press Trust of India. “We are eyeing people of all purse strings as we have all range of hotels and activities. We have the lowest visa fees (about Rs 3,000 per person) in the world which is refundable if it is not issued,” he added.

To increase tourism from India, the first step is to set up a full-fledged Moroccan National Tourism Office in New Delhi.

“We hope the office will be set up in 2-3 months. This will help us in planning various strategic promotional and awareness programs to tap the robust tourism sector in India,” Maliki added.

The north African nation, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, has partnered with Cox and Kings Global Services (CKGS) to set up 12 visa application centers in India, of which nine are already operational. Currently, visa application centers are in New wDelhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Goa, Indore, and Bengaluru.

A new Morocco Visa Application and Information Centre (MVAIC) will be opening in Hyderabad in June 2018.

“Foreseeing the growth in the number of Indians travelling to Morocco, we needed to create a seamless experience for Indian travelers in applying for visas. The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco is glad to entrust the responsibility to CKGS by appointing them as our representatives to open visa application centers in India,” Maliki said.

River Bou Regreg seafront and Kasbah in medina of Moroccon capital, Rabat.

Ties between Morocco and India go back over several centuries and both the counties have enjoyed cordial relations over the years, Maliki said, adding that the two governments have also agreed to a newly revised air service agreement, which will have a positive impact on facilitating and boosting tourist movement.

Morocco, which is a major source of phosphates for India, is also keen to diversify its cooperation with the country and target high-end tourists and filmmakers, according to the Economic Times. The Moroccan ambassador added that there is a growing interest from Bollywood, wedding, meetings, incentives, conferences, events (MICE) segments.