Moroccan tourism to Turkey has recently declined according to official Turkish data. The latest figures from Istanbul’s Directorate of Culture and Tourism showed that the number of tourists coming from Morocco to this tourist city in July dropped by 1.6% compared to the same period last year, settling at 20,000 Moroccan tourists.

This decline comes amid a general trend of decreasing numbers of Arab tourists arriving in this Turkish city, especially those from Gulf countries. The number of tourists from Saudi Arabia fell by nearly 13% in July, with 95,000 Saudi tourists visiting Istanbul, compared to more than 108,000 in the same month last year.

According to the same data, the number of Iraqi tourists also decreased by about 12.5% during this period, settling at only 38,000. The largest declines were recorded among Kuwaiti and Jordanian tourists, whose arrivals in Istanbul dropped by 23% and 20.5% respectively.

Regarding other North African countries, besides Morocco, the number of tourists arriving in Istanbul from Algeria decreased by 1.3%, while tourist arrivals from Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia saw a noticeable decline ranging between 13% and 20%. Meanwhile, Russian, German, and American tourists topped the list of visitors to this Turkish city in July.

In this context, Zoubir Bouhout, a tourism expert, told Hespress electronic newspaper that “the decline in the number of Arab tourists, including Moroccans, arriving at the Turkish tourist destination recently reflects changes in travel preferences among this group, especially amid increasing competition faced by this destination from other countries.”

The same tourism expert explained that “among the main competing destinations are Spain and Portugal, which have become attractive to beach tourism enthusiasts and have developed competitive offers in this regard, alongside other countries that are gradually developing and starting to attract tourists from around the world, such as Vietnam, Croatia, and other destinations.”

Bouhout emphasized that “Arab tourists traditionally headed to specific countries, including Turkey, before the emergence of many competitive destinations in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. Therefore, promising tourist destinations, including Morocco, need to be vigilant about this competition, develop tourism offers, and provide packages that suit different tastes and segments, which is what makes a destination attractive.”