To verify the pleasantly pretentious formula according to which "Morocco is the most beautiful country in the world", take the road between Saïdia and Al Hoceima. The string of coves and beaches, at the foot of the Rif mountains, is simply of striking beauty. And it is precisely along the Mediterranean coast that the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) has invested in several hotel units, including the Saïdia resort. Spanning an area of 5.5 hectares and with a capacity of 396 rooms, this seaside resort experienced some start-up difficulties due essentially to the deficit in infrastructure and entertainment. "We took over the Saïdia resort in 2011 and it is our role to accompany public policies. As it is up to the CDG to go to isolated areas where it is not obvious to succeed in a tourist project of such magnitude and bring it up to standard," we are assured at the CDG management. In order to bring the bed capacity in all its assets to 13,600 beds, the CDG plans to invest 17 billion DH by 2015 "which represents a quarter of all our investments," specifies Younes Merrane, director of tourist and land investments. The Oriental, in addition to its beaches and coves where the seawater is of rare clarity, is also rich in its Rif mountains, a hinterland that offers as many possibilities for entertainment. A diversification of the offer that allows the CDG and managers to target a wide range of customers. Diversification of sites and customers "The Saïdia resort is an essentially family destination because of the sea which is calm, which is reassuring for children," stresses, in Saïdia, Jamal Kilito, director of markets at the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT). If Saïdia has the largest marina in Morocco and the third in the Mediterranean, tourists going to Nador will be able to see the Marchica lagoon, separated from the sea by a fragile dune cordon. It is in Nador that the CDG has erected the Rif hotel for a budget of 430 million DH and which will be opened on 1 July. "Currently, Nador is a city that is developing economically, several industrial zones exist or are planned to which must be added the future port. It is therefore a hotel oriented towards business and tourism thanks to the sea," according to Otmane Hanaoui, director of operations of the Compagnie Générale Immobilière, a subsidiary of the CDG. Inaugurated on 1 June, the Quemado hotel, whose management has been entrusted to the Accor group, offers a breathtaking view of a site of exceptional beauty, the bay of Al Hoceima. This unit composed of 121 rooms, 20 suites, 17 bungalows and 48 apartments cost 375 million DH. "This establishment is oriented towards leisure," assures the Accor director for Africa. Now that the hotels have been built or are being completed, promotion remains and for this the CDG has allied itself with globally known managers coming from different countries such as the USA, France, Spain, India or Singapore. Two new tourist units The CDG has devoted, within the framework of its investment programme, a place of choice to the strengthening of the tourist and entertainment offer in the city of Saïdia, in particular through the realisation of two hotel units and an aqua park in the city. These are in particular Saidia Beach Hotel, a 5-star hotel which benefits from an exceptional location, located both on the seafront and on the golf course. Spanning an area of 5.5 ha with a capacity of 396 rooms, it offers a SPA, a conference centre, restaurants, a kids-club and a beach-club. The management contract for this hotel unit, scheduled for an opening in 2017, was signed with Melia Hotels International in February 2014. The second hotel unit concerns, for its part, "Saïdia Family Hotel", a 5-star Club hotel spread over an area of 3.9 ha. It is located on the resort's golf course and will have a capacity of approximately 150 rooms. This holiday club, whose opening is scheduled for 2017, targets a family, national and international clientele in search of a friendly atmosphere and leisure. The management contract for this hotel unit was signed with Melia Hotels International in February 2014.

As for the Saidia aqua park, it constitutes the main leisure and entertainment component of the resort. It will be built on a 7 ha plot, according to the best international standards, and will include more than a dozen attractions with thermalisation and a narrative common thread based on adventures on the high seas, battles, corsairs, storms, new shores.

This flagship entertainment, whose opening is scheduled for 2016, will unveil a varied programme decided with the Pierre et Vacances group and including a 1,800 m² wave pool, a 1,900 m² lazy river, a water tree and pools and slides for young and old. Benchmarks The hotel assets in operation of the group generate:

1,500 direct jobs and 1,200 indirect (excluding Club Med villages).

In the long term, the group's investments in the tourism sector will generate

18,000 jobs by 2030 (including 10,000 direct jobs).

Start in 2015 of a training programme

on tourism professions to take care of the needs generated by its investments in the sector. Benchmarks The objectives of the Oufoq plan (2011-2015): Realisation of 5,000 additional beds to bring the capacity from 8,200 beds in 2011 to 13,600 beds in 2015. Investment envelope of 17 billion DH, or 26% of the total investments of the Oufoq Plan. The total induced commitment reaches 28 billion DH for the development and planning of tourist projects.