Morocco in 2025 broke the tourism “ceiling”: record revenues and nearly 20 million arrivals, but also increasingly loud questions about sustainability
Morocco’s tourism industry in 2025 recorded results that in Rabat are described as a historic breakthrough: the country nearly reached the threshold of 20 million visitors, and foreign-currency travel receipts continued to rise to levels that confirm tourism has become one of the key generators of economic momentum. According to data published in early January 2026 by the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts, and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Morocco welcomed 19.8 million tourists in 2025, representing double-digit growth compared with the previous year. At the same time, official indicators for the first eleven months of 2025 report 124 billion dirhams in tourism receipts, with noticeable growth compared with 2024. In some international tourism media, there has also been an estimate that total annual revenues could reach around 138 billion dirhams, but such a total should be viewed as a media estimate until the final official balance for the full year is published.
In practice, the figures have a very tangible consequence: from the Atlantic coast and surf destinations to urban cores such as Marrakech, Fez, and Casablanca, demand for accommodation, transport, and services has risen sharply. For travelers, this means a wider choice of offerings, but also greater pressure on infrastructure in the most popular zones, which is why talk increasingly turns to crowd management, capacity limits, and the environmental footprint. If you’re planning a trip, it’s useful to check in advance
accommodation offers in Morocco, especially during periods of increased arrivals.
European demand and new markets: what drove a record year
The demand structure in 2025 remains largely reliant on Europe, giving Morocco a relatively stable base of arrivals, especially in winter and shoulder months when the climate in the north of the continent is less favorable for travel. In parallel, the tourism sector is actively working to broaden markets and strengthen air connectivity, with the aim of easing seasonality and reducing dependence on a few dominant source countries.
In the state’s official strategic document, the emphasis is precisely on increasing air capacity and developing direct point-to-point routes, as well as stronger promotion and partnerships with major tour operators. This combination explains why growth was also recorded in the segments of short city breaks and thematic travel, where Morocco positions itself as a destination that can combine cultural heritage, gastronomy, and natural landscapes in a relatively short stay. In such packages, Marrakech and coastal destinations are most in demand, so early planning and checking
accommodation near the main attractions in Morocco is recommended.
Numbers that change the economic picture: revenues, foreign currency, and jobs
In Morocco, tourism is not only an “experience industry”, but a sector that directly affects foreign-currency inflows, consumption, and employment. When the ministry cites the figure of 124 billion dirhams in receipts by the end of November, it implicitly signals that the previous annual result had already been surpassed by then, while the rise in arrivals to 19.8 million confirms that the recovery after the pandemic years has turned into a new cycle of expansion.
In state plans, tourism is viewed as a lever for broader development: the goal is to attract investment, raise service quality, and strengthen the local economy beyond the largest urban centers. That is precisely why tourism is increasingly linked to investments in transport, the renewal of hotel supply, and the development of additional offerings beyond accommodation—from entertainment content to organized cultural routes. However, the bigger the numbers, the louder the sustainability debate: growth based on mass tourism increases the risk of overburdening space, especially in historic cores and along sensitive coastal ecosystems.
The state “Tourism Roadmap” 2023–2026: goals already reached, ambitions grow toward 2030
Morocco met tourism growth in 2025 with an already established framework—the state roadmap for the period 2023–2026. The document states a vision to reach 26 million tourists by 2030, and as an intermediate step by 2026 it set targets of 17.5 million tourists, 200,000 new jobs, and 120 billion dirhams in foreign-currency revenues. Results from 2025 suggest that at least two elements (arrivals and revenues) exceeded the interim targets earlier than planned, which in political terms provides an additional argument for accelerating investments and expanding supply.
The document also defines thematic sectors on which the tourism product is built—from “city break” trips and cultural circuits to desert and oasis adventures and the “ocean waves” offer on the Atlantic. It is especially important that cross-cutting priorities include sustainable development and alternative accommodation, showing that the state is aware of the risk of overcrowding classic hotspots. For travelers, this most often means two things: more and more reasons to go beyond the best-known postcard points, but also the need to book accommodation earlier, especially in season—so in planning it often pays to immediately look at
accommodation offers for visitors to Morocco.
Six levers of competitiveness: transport, promotion, experiences, hotels, people, and data
The roadmap is elaborated through six “levers” of competitiveness that explain the policy direction: strengthening air capacity, more effective promotion and distribution, encouraging investment in entertainment, consolidating hotel supply through renovation and new capacity, developing human capital, and strengthening the tourism observatory as a management tool. The last point—data—is increasingly appearing as a response to overtourism: without precise tracking of visitor flows, it is difficult to plan the distribution of pressure and respond to “bottlenecks” in real time.
In practice, these measures should also help small local communities that experience tourism as an opportunity, but also as a risk. In parts of the country where tourism is expanding faster than infrastructure, key topics become water supply, waste management, traffic collapse at peak times, and preserving the authenticity of local culture.
Major projects and mobility: rail as part of the tourism story
In 2025, Morocco also announced an infrastructure project that in international media is interpreted as a move with consequences for tourism as well: expanding the high-speed rail network toward Marrakech. According to reports published after the project announcement in April 2025, the goal is to shorten travel times between key cities and strengthen more sustainable mobility, especially on routes that are most attractive to tourists. Strategically, such a project can relieve some road and air traffic and make travel between cities more predictable, which is important for domestic tourism as well.
If greater passenger throughput truly spills over to Marrakech and nearby regions, the question of accommodation capacity will become even more sensitive. Already today, during periods of increased arrivals, prices and availability vary from week to week, so planning often boils down to a rule: logistics first, then details. In that sense, it is useful to review in advance
accommodation near transport hubs in Morocco.
Sustainable development under scrutiny: overtourism, the coast, and the “surf boom”
The rise in arrivals in 2025 also intensified the side of the story that is less often mentioned in tourism brochures: how to manage destinations once they become globally popular. This is especially visible on the Atlantic coast, where places like Imsouane and Taghazout in recent years have become synonymous with a “surf destination” in Europe and beyond. International media reports note that the sudden growth in visitors brought income to the local population, but also increased pressure on the coastal space, including debates about construction in coastal zones, congestion, environmental impact, and changes in local identity.
In that context, government actions toward buildings considered illegally constructed in protected marine zones triggered strong reactions, while at the same time the state’s argument is highlighted that it wants to regulate the space before major international events and long-term tourism ambitions. For Morocco, this is a typical dilemma of fast-growing destinations: how to preserve the “authenticity” that attracts visitors, while at the same time introducing rules that protect space and residents.
Cities under pressure: what “more tourists” means for Marrakech, Fez, and Chefchaouen
Overtourism is not only a coastal problem. In cities with historic cores, the increase in visitors is felt through crowds in the medinas, more pedestrian and vehicle traffic, pressure on public services, and rising housing costs in zones that become attractive for short-term rentals. Although the state lists “city break” as one of the key products in its plans, it is increasingly clear that the sustainability of such a model depends on management capacity—from traffic to accommodation regulation and the preservation of cultural heritage.
Here we return again to the idea of dispersion: instead of all visitors flowing into a few “icons”, policy seeks to encourage travel toward less hyped regions and thematic routes. This can bring travelers a better-quality experience and local communities a more even benefit. However, such a shift requires time, investment, and clear rules. In any case, for the most popular points it still holds that it is smart to secure in advance
accommodation for visitors to the most sought-after parts of Morocco.
What 2026 brings: between additional growth and the need for “smart” management
As of 02 February 2026, available public data confirm the trend: Morocco closed 2025 as one of the most dynamic tourism stories of North Africa, with record arrivals and strong foreign-currency inflows. In 2026, the challenge is no longer only “how to bring guests”, but how to distribute them, how to preserve resources, and how to prevent economic gain from producing a social and ecological cost that local communities will have difficulty bearing.
In the official roadmap, priorities of sustainable development, strengthening the tourism observatory, and alternative accommodation are already embedded, suggesting that policy recognizes the risk of mass tourism. The key will be how these priorities are implemented on the ground: through construction standards and coastal management, through transport solutions in cities, through investments in water and waste, and through the protection of cultural heritage, which is one of the main reasons for arrivals.
For travelers, Morocco in 2026 remains a destination of an exceptionally wide range—from Atlantic waves and desert landscapes to cities that combine tradition and modernity. But precisely because of growing popularity, “spontaneous travel” increasingly becomes a luxury, and timely planning a necessity: from itinerary to booking, especially in peak weeks, when
accommodation offers in Morocco fill up fastest.
Sources:- Kingdom of Morocco (Maroc.ma) – official document “Tourism Roadmap” 2023–2026 with targets to 2026 and a vision to 2030. (link)
- Morocco’s Ministry of Tourism (reported by Hespress and others) – press release on 19.8 million tourists in 2025 and 124 bn dirhams in revenue by the end of November 2025. (link)
- Africanews / Associated Press – report on record tourism figures and the economic significance of tourism in Morocco (link)
- Ecofin Agency – overview of official data on arrivals and revenues (124 bn dirhams in the first 11 months of 2025) (link)
- Condé Nast Traveler – analysis of the Kenitra–Marrakech high-speed rail project and possible effects on mobility and tourism (link)
- Condé Nast Traveler – report on the growth of surf tourism (Imsouane, Taghazout) and related socio-environmental issues (link)
- Bank Al-Maghrib – press release after the meeting (projections and context of tourism receipts in macroeconomic indicators) (link)
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