As part of the promotional actions for this Moroccan tourist destination, the city of Dakhla recently hosted ten of the largest French mix and incentive agencies. During this trip, organised on the sidelines of the 8th regional forum, Lahcen Haddad, Minister of Tourism, shared Morocco's progress in terms of tourism with the 10 French travel experts and highlighted the assets of this region, which will benefit from a tourism dynamic within the framework of the Vision 2020 strategy.

He specified, to this effect, that within the framework of the regional programme contract signed in Dakhla, the region's reception capacity will be strengthened and its tourism offer will be diversified, notably by developing eco-tourism products at the level of the Dakhla inner lagoon, as well as the practice of water sports on the Atlantic beaches.

Thus, the tourism niches that will be developed, such as sports tourism (Kitesurfing) and high-end niche tourism, based on the sea-desert combination through the development of an eco-resort and specialised boutique hotels (Windsurfing, Spa, Nature), will largely meet the expectations of French tourists.

This initiative, organised by the ONMT delegation in Paris, will help to make the Dakhla destination known to the 10 travel organisers and will contribute to boosting this destination among French tourists. As a reminder, the city of Dakhla is an emerging destination that is recording an increase in arrivals, going from 11,185 in 2011 to 13,120 in 2012. French tourists are at the top of the list of arrivals with 2,496 in 2011 and 3,239 arrivals in 2012.

This region has adopted a regional programme contract derived from the national "Vision 2020" programme contract for a total cost of 5.23 billion DH. This portfolio consists of one structuring project and 20 complementary projects that will enrich and densify the fabric of the regional tourism offer. The implementation of these projects will require a total budget of 5,236.5 million DH, of which 96.6%, or 5,061 million DH, will be borne by the private sector.

By 2020, nearly 70% of tourists in the Oued Eddahab-Lagouira region will come from three target markets: France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In order to meet the marketing challenges of the Oued Ed-dahab-Lagouira region, an action plan has been put in place for each of the said markets. In order to meet the arrival targets of Vision 2020 in the region, air service will need to reach 13 weekly frequencies. Thus, the three European capitals, Paris, Madrid, and London, will be connected to Dakhla through regular flights. These capitals will serve as regional hubs and will connect Dakhla to the main tourist-generating basins in major European metropolises.n