Spanish group Checkin Hotels announced today plans to open two new tourist establishments in Morocco.
The first, to be called DWO Marrakech Ennakikhl, will be a five-star hotel with 230 rooms in Morocco’s famed Red City.
As for the second hotel, it is called DWO Golden Camp Merzouga and will be situated in the heart of the Sahara desert in the midst of the dunes of the Erg Chebbi; it will offer 32 tents equipped with modern features.
Checkin Group opened its first Moroccan hotel, DWO Le Bedouin, a four-star resort located in the desert of Agafay near Marrakech, in March this year.
The news comes as several reports have in recent months highlighted Spain’s hotel groups’ growing interest in the Moroccan market.
El Pais, a leading Spanish media outlet, reported last January that a growing number of Spanish hotel groups are seeking to strengthen their presence in Morocco to take advantage of the country’s tourism boom.
Major Spanish hotels, including Barcelo, Riu, and Iberostar, among others, are considering an expansion of their activities in the North African country, El Pais noted.
In February, the Spanish group Senator Hotels & Resorts announced its expansion into the Moroccan market with a new beachfront resort, Senator Babylon, in the southern Moroccan city of Dakhla.
In May, Spanish hospitality giant Hotusa announced plans to open three new hotels in Casablanca, Morocco’s financial capital.
Morocco is a major tourism hub and a stable destination compared to other options in the region, making it an attractive investment hub for stakeholders in the hospitality industry.
The country welcomed an impressive 14 million tourists in 2023, shattering equally impressive numbers recorded in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing crises.
This year, Morocco is expected to host more than 15 million tourists.
The country’s tourism revenues stood at MAD 49 billion ($4.9 billion) in the first half of this year, against MAD 47.9 billion ($4.8 billion) in the same period last year, according to new data from the Moroccan Office of Exchange.
These figures indicate a 2.3% increase compared to the same period last year.
Tourist arrivals also increased by 13.9% in the first half of this year, the same data revealed.
The office attributed this increase to the inflow of tourists recorded in the first six months of this year, with arrivals reaching 7 million tourists.
Foreign tourists represented a rate of 54.2%, showing a 16.3% increase compared to the same period last year.