The 2014-2017 Quadrennial Action Plan aims to be the fruit of a participatory consultation process. This involved all the tourism operators of the ochre city, in the aftermath of the signing of the Convention for the creation of the Regional Promotion Fund. The CRT thus sets the bar very high by counting in particular on 3.8 million tourists by 2018, the creation of 15,000 new jobs, the consolidation of Marrakech's leadership and the strengthening of its positioning as a destination for culture and holidays. With a view to concretising the strategic objectives of the said plan, the council has decided to focus on the promotion of the German and English markets due to the enormous potential they represent. Anxious to look more towards the German market, deemed “priority” as the leading tourist-generating market in the world, with more than 60 million per year, the CRT has implemented a battery of measures intended to consolidate the presence of the ochre city, by thus equipping itself with new communication and promotion tools in the German language, including thematic brochures highlighting the different facets of the Marrakech destination: culture, golf, MICE, well-being, nature and adventure, green spaces, “Family” offers… In the wake of the promotional actions towards this market, the CRT had taken part, last March, in the Berlin International Tourism Fair (ITB) with a strong delegation composed of more than fifty tourism professionals. It should be remembered that Marrakech had welcomed some 54,570 German tourists in 2013, having generated more than 146,267 overnight stays, up 19% compared to 2012. In parallel with these performances, in terms of arrivals and overnight stays, air links between Marrakech and German cities are experiencing unprecedented development. In this context, new lines scheduled in 2014 will reinforce the air offer from Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. The CRT has also decided to reinforce its promotional campaigns towards the priority English market, today the third largest clientele of Marrakech, which represents a strong potential for growth. The number of British tourists increased by 16% in 2013. Thus, arrivals amount to 144,467 against 119,711 in 2012, while overnight stays are 632,088 against 541,043 a year earlier. The Ochre City experiences a frequency of 62 weekly flights from London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol. The rise of the British source market is a godsend for the Marrakech destination, insofar as the purchasing power of the British is one of the most significant in Europe. Regarding the second project inherent to the strengthening of air links, the actions will focus in particular on the consolidation of existing routes, the creation of new air links and the launch of long-haul lines, including New York-Marrakech and Sao Paulo-Marrakech. The meeting was also an opportunity for the authorities and local elected officials to reiterate their firm commitment and their constant mobilisation to work in concert with professionals for the improvement of the city's tourist environment and the promotion of the destination as a locomotive of national tourism. Furthermore, the Action Plan was presented during a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Wali of the Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz region, Abdeslam Bekrate, in the presence in particular of the Director General of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT), Abderrafie Zouiten, the President of the Regional Council, Ahmed Touizi, the President of the City Council, Fatima-Zahra Mansouri and the President of the CRT, Hamid Bentahar.

Cascading growth The presentation of the Action Plan was an opportunity to present the balance sheet of tourist activities during the first quarter of the current year. It emerges from the data made public by the CRT that the traffic of aircraft movements at the level of Marrakech-Menara airport recorded a growth of 11% and that of passengers 12% compared to the same period of the previous year. The same source makes it known that tourist arrivals displayed double-digit growth with 10.64%, the number of overnight stays experienced an increase of 15.77%, strong progress was recorded in all markets, ranging from 72% for Scandinavians to 13% for Spaniards, and that the occupancy rate achieved a gain of four points to go from 46% to 51% with a peak of 57% for the month of March. Marrakech is experiencing an unprecedented radiance which rests essentially on its tourist attraction capacity, as attested by its recent ranking as the sixth best global destination by the famous American site “TripAdvisor”.