The Moroccan Society of Tourism Engineering (SMIT) is gearing up to unveil a comprehensive panorama of tourism investment in Morocco, focusing on an extensive survey involving classified hotels and amusement parks, with data spanning from 2023 to 2025. This initiative aims to provide an updated and detailed overview of tourism investments, presenting a consolidated vision of various projects, their financing methods, management practices, and economic performance.
SMIT's approach involves a thorough survey conducted on a representative sample of establishments, particularly emphasizing classified hotels and amusement parks. According to SMIT, "the ambition is to create a panorama of tourism investments through a representative survey,” which will enhance understanding of the market dynamics, investor profiles, asset characteristics, and performance metrics.
A Focus on Strategic Destinations
The study will encompass several key destinations across Morocco, including Marrakech, Agadir, Casablanca, Tangier-Tetouan, Saïdia, Fes, Essaouira, Rabat, Al Haouz, Ouarzazate, and Errachidia. It will explore both public and private investments across various accommodation categories, including three, four, and five-star hotels, club hotels, luxury establishments, classified hotel residences, riads, and guesthouses. When it comes to amusement parks, the analysis will consider different aspects of the operations, including attractions, dining options, and commercial areas. Marrakech and Agadir are anticipated to remain the most sought-after destinations, while Rabat is expected to increase its role in hosting cultural, sports, and business events, making the comparative analysis between these destinations particularly valuable.
In terms of investment, the study will delve into the profiles of investors and managers, the physical and financial characteristics of projects, land costs, financing arrangements, and profitability levels. It will also address administrative procedures, incentive mechanisms, and key factors that may delay project execution.
Creating a Reference Document and Interactive Platform
Results from the study will be compiled into a reference booklet available in both short and long formats. This document will summarize the key findings of the study, provide analyses by destination and asset category, compare market segments, and include reference indicators along with operational recommendations. Furthermore, the project includes the development of an interactive digital solution that will allow users to access data through graphs, maps, tables, and dashboards, complete with filters by destination, property category, management style, or investor profile. This platform aims to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the indicators while ensuring data traceability and consistency, benefiting public authorities, investors, and industry professionals.
This initiative comes at a time when the tourism sector is rapidly growing. Morocco welcomed 19.8 million tourists in 2025, a 14% increase from 2024, with foreign currency revenues reaching 138 billion dirhams, according to the Ministry of Tourism. By the end of September 2026, 15.7 million arrivals were recorded, marking a 5% rise as per data released by the ministry on October 8.
With accommodation capacity slightly exceeding 300,000 beds after the addition of 45,000 beds over four years, the Kingdom aims to create an additional 60,000 beds ahead of the 2030 World Cup, as cited by the Minister Fatim-Zahra Ammor in July. Various measures have accompanied this effort, including the Cap Hospitality program launched in 2024 in collaboration with the Mohammed VI Investment Fund and SMIT to renovate 25,000 rooms, along with a project bank established in partnership with the ministry.
SMIT is already operating a tourism investment observatory that tracks results through performance indicators, as noted by its General Director Imad Barrakad. The new panorama will complement this initiative by documenting project profitability, while the Tourism Observatory primarily publishes data on arrivals, overnight stays, and occupancy rates.
In terms of statistics, the Tourism Observatory introduced a new model for estimating occupancy indicators of classified establishments in November 2025 in Rabat, which relies on a representative sample reflecting the type of accommodation, destination, and seasonality, supported by UN Tourism. Likewise, SMIT will use a representative sample for its survey.
As competition among destinations intensifies, SMIT emphasizes the growing importance of visibility, transparency, and quality information amongst investors, as highlighted by Imad Barrakad during the GBB Investment Summit in Rabat in June. The roadmap for 2023-2026 is backed by 6 billion dirhams, supplemented by an emergency plan of 2 billion dirhams, according to the ministry.
The minister reiterated in July that "we must make investments that create sustainable value for Moroccan tourism." This panorama is set to serve as a decision-making tool for both public authorities and operators. However, the timeline for launching the survey and the release date for the booklet and platform remain unspecified at this stage.
As reported by lopinion.ma.
