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The African Development Bank (BAD) has published its annual report ‘Africa Tourism Monitor’, in which it demonstrates the leading position that Morocco has earned in the African tourism market.
Since 2014, Morocco has received more tourists than Egypt and South Africa, according to the report which was realized jointly with the Africa House of the New York University and Africa Travel Association.
Despite the widespread conflicts and insecurity in the neighboring countries Morocco has kept its objective of 10 million tourists receiving 10.28 million visitors in 2014. The country thus welcomed the biggest amount of tourists in Africa, followed by Egypt with 9,630,000 visitors and South Africa with 9,550,000 visitors.
Regarding jobs, 1.740 million people worked in the tourism market in Morocco in 2014, both directly and indirectly. This data puts the country on the 4th position within the African tourism market behind Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria, according to BAD.
The tourism sector is the second largest contributor to the national GDP and the second largest job creator in Morocco. Tourism thus represents about 12% of the GDP. The sector is also the provider of nearly 5% of employment for the entire economy.
Tourism also holds a significant place as a generating source of foreign exchange. Revenues from non-residents who stayed in Morocco amounted nearly 57.2 billion dirhams in 2014.
