Morocco's tourism industry is gearing up for surge of leisure travelers, and several hotel brand companies are expanding their portfolios in the North African country.

Even though visitors are still required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination and produce a negative PCR test within 48 hours of arrival, business on the books to Morocco has improved to such cities as Agadir, Fez and Marrakech, said Thomas Emanuel, director at STR, CoStar’s hotel analytics division. These leisure booking trends are in line with high demand in other nearby destinations such as Spain’s Balearic Islands.

“Morocco enjoyed four years of solid [revenue per available room] growth prior to 2019, and [our partner] Tourism Economics predicts in 2023 it will see 17 million visitors,” he said.

Emanuel added Fez hotels are leading the way and Tangier's hotel segment also has been relatively strong.

But for full-year 2021, the city of Marrakech was down 36% on pre-pandemic hotel performance, he said.

“For Marrakech and Casablanca, we will not see the resurgence quite yet,” Emanuel added.

Based on full-year 2021 hotel occupancy, indexed link to 2019, Marrakech's occupancy, at 37%, lagged hotels in other Mediterranean markets, such as the Greek islands at 51%, Portugal's Algarve region at 51% and the Spanish Canary Islands at 38%.

Yet, leisure travelers visiting Morocco aren't fazed by increased average daily rates, and the country's pipeline skews to luxury hotels. In 2021, Morocco's hotel ADR rose 2% over pre-pandemic levels to 1,063.25 Moroccan dirhams ($108), according to STR.

Russell Kett, chairman of business advisory HVS London, said there is great opportunity for hotel development in Morocco, a country in which accommodations are concentrated in small, grand homes with courtyards called riads. He added Morocco’s pipeline currently is higher than Greece’s.

According to German hospitality statistics firm Statista, at the end of 2020 there were more than 270,000 hotel beds in the country in more than 4,200 hotels. That equates to approximately 60 beds per hotel.

Global hotel companies see plenty of room to develop in the North African country, including IHG Hotels & Resorts and Radisson Hotel Group.

Neil Jacobs, CEO of IHG's Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas brand, said he is very bullish about the market. Six Senses is in the process of redeveloping three casbahs close to the small desert city of Ouarzazate overlooking the High Atlas Mountains.

“We’re working with government entities and a private investor called Aqua, and we’re to be ready by the end of next year, and we’re looking to go further with the same group, maybe in Marrakech or Medina,” he said.

Finding the right location in Morocco is not always easy, Jacobs said. But Six Senses and IHG envisage a ring of Moroccan hotels that might include Marrakech or Medina as well as Casablanca, Fez, Tangier and Tetuan.

“We have room to do three or four projects, and they will be different projects,” he said.

Morocco has all the hallmarks for a wellness-oriented hotel to do well, Jacobs said.

“Even in COVID-19, we saw some of our hotels doing better than they’ve ever done before. There is much more focus on wellness, and for us it is the pillar of our entire company," Jacobs said. “Guests are demanding more from a stay, and they want to leave in a better place than when they came to stay."

Jacobs said wellness arguably is more important in urban settings than in resort ones.

To be successful in Morocco, hotel brand executives must be prepared for lengthy relationship-building with hotel owners, Jacobs said.

“You might say that is true of any market, but [in Morocco] you have to be there. It requires face-to-face interaction,” he said.

Ramsay Rankoussi, Radisson's vice president of development of Africa and Turkey, said the company is positioning its Radisson Blu brand for growth in Morocco.

“Radisson Blu represents the largest upscale brand in Europe, and this coupled with our position as the fastest-growing operator across Africa gives us all the relevance to further expand our presence in Morocco,” he said.

Rankoussi added Casablanca’s function as one of the main financial centers in Africa represents an opportunity to open hotels across all segments.

Radisson’s recent growth includes city hotels, resorts and convention hotels, with resort openings Al Hoceima, Saïdia and Taghazout. The company also desires to open hotels in Agadir, Rabat and Tangier, Rankoussi said.

Rankoussi said the presence of historical assets that can be converted into hotels across Morocco represents a unique opportunity for brands such as his soft brand Radisson Collection. One recent addition to that portfolio is the Lincoln Hotel Casablanca.

“Our ambition to reach 15 hotels [in Morocco] is still in place and 2021 represented a year of acceleration as we already concluded with over 11 hotels in operation and under development across Morocco," he said. “Our priorities to reinforce our presence across North Africa and Morocco are pivotal in that journey where political reforms and national tourism ambitions are playing a major support to the country’s potential along with positive accessibility and infrastructure."

Radisson is well on its way to reaching its development goals in Africa, Rankoussi said.

“We aim to reach over 150 hotels [in Africa] by 2025 from 100 hotels today, and we foresee a balance across all subregions within the continent, further fueling growth in key focus markets such as Morocco,” Rankoussi said.

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