Agadir – The tourism sector in Morocco has sustained its positive trajectory at the beginning of 2026.
The country received over 1.3 million visitors in January, registering a 3% rise over the same period last year, according to the Directorate of Studies and Financial Forecasts (DEPF) in its latest economic outlook.
The positive performance of the tourism sector was boosted by the sustained rise in some of the country’s major tourism source markets, including France, which rose by 14%, Poland by 40%, Italy 6%, The United States by 15%, Belgium 5%, and Canada by 10%.
Meanwhile, overnight stays in classified tourism establishments rose by 12% at the end of January, a rise that was attributed to the country’s hosting of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, alongside the continued appeal of the country’s tourist destinations.
Several cities recorded significant growth in overnight stays, such as Rabat (+42%), Casablanca (+36%), Ouarzazate (+35%), Tangier (+31%), Errachidia (+29%), Agadir (+11%), Fez (+10%), and Marrakech and Essaouira, both with (+7%).
Tourism revenues also showed solid growth, rising by 19.3% to MAD 11.7 billion ($1.24 billion) in January 2026, up from MAD 9.8 billion ($1.04 billion) during the same month in 2025.
Similarly, air traffic showed a rising trend. Moroccan airports handled more than 3.1 million passengers in January, representing a 14.7% increase. The increase in traffic was driven by both international traffic (+14.9%) and domestic travel (+13.1%).
By region, passenger traffic showed a strong increase from Africa (+28.9%), the Americas (+30.7%), the Middle East and Far East (+15.9%), Maghreb countries (+13.7%), and Europe (+13.2%). Air freight traffic also showed a 7.4% increase during this same period.
In the maritime sector, commercial port traffic reached 262.6 million tonnes in 2025, representing a 8.9% increase after a 15.2% rise a year earlier. The increase in traffic was driven by a rise in transshipment traffic (+14.7%), short-distance shipping (+24.3%), imports (+2.8%), and exports (+1.4%).
