{"id":11397,"date":"2026-01-11T18:41:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T18:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=11397"},"modified":"2026-01-11T18:41:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T18:41:25","slug":"morocco-egypt-break-tourism-records-as-africas-top-destinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=11397","title":{"rendered":"Morocco, Egypt break tourism records as Africa\u2019s top destinations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tourism in Morocco and Egypt hit fresh records in 2025, as new flight links, showpiece museums and Africa\u2019s top sporting event helped reaffirm\u00a0their spots\u00a0as the continent\u2019s most-visited destinations.<\/p>\n

Year-end data reported by the North African countries saw Morocco record some 19.8 million arrivals, 14% more than the year before. Visitors to\u00a0Egypt, meanwhile, rocketed an annual 21% to 19 million.<\/p>\n

Read:
Unlocking the future of African tourism
Luxury tourism is a risky strategy for African economies
Which African countries are flourishing?<\/p>\n

The figures signal boom times for tourism industries that are key employers and foreign-currency sources\u00a0and\u00a0have firmly rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic while shrugging off the knock-on effects of two years of conflict in the broader Arab world.<\/p>\n

While no governing body tracks arrivals for every African country, both UN Tourism and the World Travel & Tourism Council show Morocco and Egypt have consistently outpaced sub-Saharan destinations.<\/p>\n

Read: Morocco\u2019s World Cup funding to get \u20ac2bn bond boost<\/p>\n

For Morocco, the figures reflect a \u201cdeep transformation\u201d of its tourism offerings, according to Fatim-Zahra Ammor, the minister in charge of the sector that accounts for about 8% of the $178 billion economy.<\/p>\n

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The kingdom\u2019s arrival numbers are 50% higher than the pre-pandemic peak, and have shown little effect from\u00a0the devastating earthquake\u00a0that hit south of the tourism hotspot of Marrakesh in September 2023.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That city\u2019s iconic, oft-chaotic central square is currently being revamped.<\/p>\n

A swathe of new flights has helped speed arrivals. Royal Air Maroc added new connections to its main European market last year and received new aircraft as part of a plan to quadruple its fleet to 200 by the 2038. There are new direct routes to the US and China, while\u00a0Ryanair Holdings Plc\u00a0provides a brace of low-cost options from Europe.<\/p>\n

Read: Seychelles and Mauritius still top African investment destinations<\/p>\n

Already busy trade in December got an extra boost from the visit of tens of thousands of football fans from the rest of the continent and the African diaspora to attend the Africa Cup of Nations. Morocco is hosting the flagship event from 21 December to 18 January.<\/p>\n

The country is seeking to draw 26 million annual tourists by the time it co-hosts the Fifa World Cup with Spain and Portugal in 2030.<\/p>\n

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Visitors to Tutankhamun\u2019s golden funerary mask at the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, in November. Image: Islam Safwat\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n

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Egyptian tourism, meanwhile, has proved resilient even with the war raging for two years in neighbouring Gaza. Crowds have flocked to the long-awaited $1 billion Grand Egyptian Museum, which sits in the shadow of the Pyramids of Giza, since it formally opened in a glitzy ceremony in November.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada are as buzzing as ever, while new developments on Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean coast are building the area\u2019s profile as an international \u2013 not just domestic \u2013 destination.<\/p>\n

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Cairo itself is undergoing a facelift, with flashy new hotels and the restoration of its historic downtown and the area around its 12th-century citadel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s a target of more than 20 million visitors in 2026, Tourism Minister Sherif Fathi told local media this month. Occupancy at hotels has reached 100% in some locations, he said.<\/p>\n

The country, also famed for its Nile cruises, is looking to attract 30 million annual arrivals by 2031.<\/p>\n

\u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg<\/p>\n

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