The huge earthquake that hit the Atlas Mountains and Marrakech last September – the strongest ever recorded in the country – created some harrowing images and hit the headlines around the world.

But less well reported has been how Morocco’s tourism industry swiftly recovered from this natural disaster, particularly in the key destination of Marrakech.

While the 6.8-magnitude earthquake on 8 September 2023 did cause some visitors to postpone trips to the affected area, most luxury hotels and infrastructure in Marrakech were left relatively unscathed, with minimal operational disruption.

Sadly, the same cannot be said in the Atlas Mountains, where the damage was much more devastating.

Patrick Millar, senior manager and head of marketing at Kirker, says that while the earthquake did initially have an impact on new sales to Morocco, it did not prove a “real deterrent” to clients who were already booked to travel to Marrakech.

“We took a few calls from concerned clients in the days and weeks that followed, but most were worried about appearing insensitive by visiting as a tourist in the wake of a tragedy,” adds Millar. “The truth, of course, is that visitors were welcomed with open arms, and the wave of cancellations which some hotels received was much more damaging to them financially than the earthquake itself.”

It was a similar story for Elegant Resorts, which had to amend some bookings to Morocco in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. “Most clients were happy to postpone their visits by a few weeks rather than cancel or delay into 2024, thanks to the reassuring message from our partners in Marrakech and the efforts to restore the city and hotels so quickly,” says product manager Sophie Jones.

“Kasbah Tamadot was the worst affected due to its location in the Atlas Mountains. Fortunately, no staff or animals were injured, but the property did have to close. They seem to have taken this as an opportunity to accelerate their new riad accommodation works, and have a phased reopening.”

The Virgin Limited Edition property is planning to fully reopen in October following its reconstruction, although its six new three-bedroom riads were set to make their debut a few months earlier this month.

Morocco’s resilience as a destination is emphasised by its achievement of a record year for international tourists during 2023, despite the earthquake, with total arrivals of 14.5 million. This was a 34% rise compared with 2022 and also represented an increase of 12% on the pre-Covid year of 2019.

This upward momentum has also continued into 2024 with visitors up by 13% year-on-year to 3.3 million during the first three months of the year.

The country has ambitious expansion plans with a short-term goal of reaching 17.5 million annual tourists by 2026, and then 26 million by 2030, when it is due to be one of the hosts of the Fifa World Cup football tournament alongside European neighbours Spain and Portugal.

Flying high

While Marrakech continues to largely dominate demand for luxury trips to Morocco, the country hopes to expand its appeal to other destinations including Agadir, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca and Essaouira on the Atlantic coast.

New flights and routes are crucial to this strategy with capacity between the UK and Morocco set to rise by a whopping 49% this summer to 864,000 seats compared with 581,000 seats in summer 2023, according to aviation data from OAG.

British Airways has just launched a route from Gatwick to Agadir for the first time in more than a decade. But much of this air expansion is being led by Ryanair, which is introducing seven new routes from the UK to Morocco this summer, including a service from Manchester to its new base at Tangier.

Ryanair’s other new routes include flights to Agadir from Birmingham, Bournemouth and Edinburgh. This will be followed next winter by Jet2.com’s entry into Morocco for the first time with up to 17 weekly flights from six UK airports to Marrakech and Agadir from October 2024. 

The airline and tour operator is introducing these year-round flights as part of a five-year deal with the Moroccan National Tourism Office, which includes joint marketing campaigns for the destination.

Welcome additions

Luxury tour operators welcome these extra flights to Morocco, particularly the new routes from regional UK airports, which will make the destination more attractive to clients living outside London and the south-east.

“Peak travel times are filling up fast. Jet2.com services regional UK airports, so this will help to open up the destination to a broader range of clients who live outside of the south of England,” says Suzanne McGrory, Audley Travel’s product manager for Morocco.

Kirker’s Patrick Millar adds: “More regional routes are always welcome, and it would be useful for multi-centre holidays to have better connections in the north of the country – Fez or Tangier.”

Hotel hotlist 

Of course, adding all these flights will increase demand for luxury hotels and there are a host of new openings this year across the country to tempt upmarket clients.

Notable openings include The View Agadir, which made its debut in March, offering 272 rooms and suites, as well as direct access to the city’s Atlantic coast beach.

Meanwhile, Royal Mansour, which has operated its iconic Marrakech property since 2010, has also unveiled a new hotel in Casablanca. The renovated 149-room property is based in a historic 1950s building and attractions include a 23rd-floor restaurant with views across the city.

Another opening in Casablanca is the 133-room Radisson Hotel Casablanca Gauthier La Citadelle, which becomes the first Radisson-branded property in Morocco. This is part of a major expansion by the Radisson Hotel Group in the country, with the aim of increasing its presence from nine existing hotels to 25 properties by 2030.

Elsewhere, Four Seasons is also set to imminently open its fourth property in Morocco with the Four Seasons Hotel Rabat at Kasr Al Bahr. The hotel in the Moroccan capital will feature 200 rooms and suites based in a restored 18th-century former royal palace.

Not to be outdone, Marrakech has also recently seen the debut of the boutique property Izza, which opened just one week before September’s earthquake. Fortunately, the 14-room hotel in the historic Medina did not suffer any structural damage and in the days after the disaster, the property prepared emergency food packs for impacted communities in the Atlas Mountains.

Mirroring the city’s quick recovery, Izza is now enjoying occupancy rates of 85 to 90%. It is also starting to work with the trade through the likes of Black Tomato, Original Travel and Quintessentially Travel.

While there is clearly a desire to encourage luxury visitors to travel to other parts of Morocco through new flights and resorts, the enduring appeal of Marrakech and the nearby Atlas Mountains continues to dominate bookings for now.

“For our guests travelling to Morocco in 2024, Marrakech is the most popular entry point for a few days filled with cultural experiences and cuisine, often followed by active adventures in the Atlas Mountains or the Agafay Desert,” says Simon Lynch, global director of sales at Scott Dunn. “For longer trips, our guests are adding in Casablanca or Essaouira on the Atlantic coast.”

Beyond Marrakech

Some operators are also looking to encourage clients to explore more of the country beyond Marrakech by introducing multi-centre tours visiting destinations such as Tangier, Rabat and Casablanca.

“The majority of our bookings are either short city breaks [to Marrakech] in the medina or resort stays nearby, or twin centres combined with the desert and mountains such as Kasbah Tamadot,” says Elegant Resort’s Sophie Jones. “There are clients who wish to explore a little further so we have a great contact in Morocco to help with bespoke itineraries, and we hope to do more on this with the recent launch of our Experience brochure which includes a Moroccan Gems itinerary.”

Despite the devastation of last year’s earthquake, Morocco is set to be one of the destinations to watch in the coming years with so many new flights, hotels and other tourism developments. The country’s tourism profile is also only set to rise as it prepares for co-hosting the World Cup in 2030.

For plenty of tips on making the most of Morocco for your clients, check out our new guide.