This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
A. Latif Baraka – Heba Press
Morocco fell in the “Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024” ranking, published by the World Economic Forum, to 82nd place out of 119 countries, recording a drop of twelve places compared to 2019.
This decline reflects the structural challenges facing Morocco’s tourism sector, despite being one of the main pillars of the national economy and an important source of foreign exchange and job creation.
Morocco obtained an overall score of 3.64 on the general index, reflecting an average performance even lower than the global average, according to the report.
The sector suffers from significant challenges, including deficiencies in transport infrastructure and tourism services, in addition to low commitment to environmental sustainability policies, which constitutes an obstacle to achieving sustainable development of the sector and strengthening of Morocco’s position at the international level.
In the regional context, the UAE showed clear superiority by ranking 18th globally, making it the best performing country in the Middle East and North Africa region, while the Egypt ranks 61st in the world and is considered the most distinguished country in North Africa, while Saudi Arabia has become the best country to have progressed. Since 2019, it has moved up 9 places to reach 41st place.
On the other hand, Tunisia and Algeria rank close to Morocco, 83 and 98 respectively, which highlights the common challenges facing North African countries, particularly in the areas of infrastructure and environmental sustainability.
Globally, the United States tops the index, followed by Spain, Japan and France. These countries reflect a high level of development in infrastructure, cultural diversity and innovation in tourism experiences.
For example, Spain has benefited from a rich mix of advanced cultural and natural resources, as well as policies favorable to the sustainability of the sector. Economic strength, technological innovation and advanced air connectivity have also played a central role in strengthening these ranks.
On the other hand, Mali comes at the bottom of the ranking (119th), followed by Sierra Leone (118th) and Cameroon (117th). These countries suffer from major challenges, including weak infrastructure, lack of security stability and lack of security. policies supporting the tourism sector, as these have limited their ability to attract tourists and hindered the sector’s contribution to their economies.
The report highlights that Morocco needs a comprehensive strategic vision focused on improving the quality of tourism services, developing infrastructure and improving the marketing of its cultural and natural destinations on a global scale.
The successful experiences of regional and international countries also provide important lessons from which Morocco can benefit, particularly in the areas of tourism innovation, improving investments and adopting sustainable policies.
