In a press release reviewing the past year, Mr. Khanne confirmed that "the City of Trade Winds has also set a new record by recording more than 3 million overnight stays".
These figures only reflect the performance of classified establishments, specifies the CPT, noting that one must add "the very substantial flows from the informal sector and rentals from residents (Airbnb) which, traditionally, have always represented a very significant share of the Souiri tourism market".
According to Mr. Khanne, "2024 was also marked by a phenomenon characteristic of the exceptional dynamic that Souiri tourism is experiencing, which, for about ten years, has seen the fading of seasonality that was traditional and that punctuated the evolution of tourist flows. From now on, Essaouira is full practically all year round, in winter as in summer, in autumn as in spring".
"This evolution is carried, nurtured, and supported by Souiri civil society, embodied by the Essaouira-Mogador Association, which organises or associates itself with about fifteen music festivals as well as dozens of forums and conferences throughout the year to debate, among other things, the centrality of culture, arts, and heritage in the pioneering sustainable development strategy favoured, with legitimacy and success for more than 30 years by the Essaouira-Mogador Association", the same source reports.
The year that is beginning looks very promising, underlines the CPT, recalling "the impressive progress of the City of Arts, Culture, and Heritage project, the ultimate work of Oscar Niemeyer, the great master of 20th-century architecture", as well as the launch of the refoundation and development works of the "Mogador" resort with a total investment of 5 billion dirhams.
"It remains to provide the most appropriate response to the challenges of national and international connectivity of Essaouira on the roads, in the air, and by rail to consolidate and optimise the exceptional momentum that the City of Trade Winds is experiencing", concludes the CPT.
These figures only reflect the performance of classified establishments, specifies the CPT, noting that one must add "the very substantial flows from the informal sector and rentals from residents (Airbnb) which, traditionally, have always represented a very significant share of the Souiri tourism market".
According to Mr. Khanne, "2024 was also marked by a phenomenon characteristic of the exceptional dynamic that Souiri tourism is experiencing, which, for about ten years, has seen the fading of seasonality that was traditional and that punctuated the evolution of tourist flows. From now on, Essaouira is full practically all year round, in winter as in summer, in autumn as in spring".
"This evolution is carried, nurtured, and supported by Souiri civil society, embodied by the Essaouira-Mogador Association, which organises or associates itself with about fifteen music festivals as well as dozens of forums and conferences throughout the year to debate, among other things, the centrality of culture, arts, and heritage in the pioneering sustainable development strategy favoured, with legitimacy and success for more than 30 years by the Essaouira-Mogador Association", the same source reports.
The year that is beginning looks very promising, underlines the CPT, recalling "the impressive progress of the City of Arts, Culture, and Heritage project, the ultimate work of Oscar Niemeyer, the great master of 20th-century architecture", as well as the launch of the refoundation and development works of the "Mogador" resort with a total investment of 5 billion dirhams.
"It remains to provide the most appropriate response to the challenges of national and international connectivity of Essaouira on the roads, in the air, and by rail to consolidate and optimise the exceptional momentum that the City of Trade Winds is experiencing", concludes the CPT.
