2010-08-12 15:58

In order to further develop its tourism industry, Morocco is now looking to Asia, particularly China, a tourist office chief said Wednesday.

"China is developing fast, and the tourist market there shows great potential," Abdelhamid Addou, general director of the Moroccan National Tourism Office, told Xinhua in an interview.

Moroccan tourism has been growing compared with that of other countries, which had suffered a 4- to 10-percent decline because of the financial crisis. In 2008 and 2009, arrivals of tourists, including both domestic and international, have increased 7 percent each year, Addou said.

The revenues of the tourism industry amounted to 52.8 billion dirham ($6.4 billion) in 2009 and reached 22.7 billion dirham in the first half of 2010, he said, adding that this was the result of the "ten-year development plan" launched a decade ago.

Under the plan, the tourist volume is expected to hit 10 million this year, and 600,000 new jobs will be created in domestic tourism. Addou told Xinhua that based on the status quo, all targets will be met by the end of this year.

However, tourism revenues did not grow as fast as tourist numbers did due to the impact of the financial crisis, Addou said.

Besides consolidating traditional European markets, including France, Spain, Italy, Britain, Germany and Belgium, Morocco will explore East Europe, North America and the Middle East as well.

China would be the focus in its potential Asian market, he said. Less than 10,000 Chinese visit Morocco each year, he said, but he believed the rich culture, ancient historical heritage and unique landscape would attract more Chinese tourists.

"We already set up offices in Beijing, and we've unveiled a promotion plan aimed at introducing Morocco to the Chinese people. We also want to tell Chinese about our special national arts, culture and products through publications, websites and exhibitions," Addou said.

Although Morocco is far from China, he believed joint efforts from airline companies on both sides will make direct flights possible.

Morocco, dubbed "the Garden of Northern Africa," is known for its ancient Roman sites, the unique Sahara desert and its Mediterranean beaches. Tourism accounts for 9.6 percent of the Moroccan GDP.

In 2007, Morocco was granted the status of destination for overseas travel by Chinese citizens.