Morocco turns up the heat on tourism investment at IHIF Berlin

BERLIN - Morocco is taking part in the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, showcasing its rapidly expanding hospitality sector in a high-powered push to attract fresh capital and international partners.

The North African Kingdom is presenting hard numbers that underscore its ambition to become one of the world’s top tourism destinations by the end of the decade.

With more than 300,000 beds across 5,000 establishments already operational and over 100 new hotels opening every year, Morocco is positioning itself as a high-growth market for hotel developers, luxury operators, private equity funds, and institutional investors seeking exposure to North Africa’s most dynamic travel economy.

The message from the Moroccan Tourism Engineering Company (SMIT) is clear: the sector is not only scaling fast but is backed by strong government incentives, infrastructure upgrades, and the once-in-a-generation catalyst of co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.

Morocco’s target is to add tens of thousands of additional rooms by 2030 while maintaining the quality and sustainability standards that international investors demand.

The statistics on display tell a compelling growth story. Morocco added more than 43,000 new beds in just the past two years, pushing total capacity above 304,000. The pipeline remains aggressive: more than 100 hotels are scheduled to open annually through the remainder of the decade, many in partnership with global brands such as Accor, Marriott, Hilton, and Four Seasons.

This expansion is part of the government’s updated tourism roadmap, which aims to lift annual visitor numbers to 17.5 million by the end of 2026 and 26 million by 2030. Tourism already contributes significantly to GDP and employment — the sector supported nearly 894,000 direct jobs in 2025 — and officials see foreign direct investment as the key accelerator to hit those targets.

Moroccan authorities are actively courting hotel developers and real-estate funds for greenfield and brownfield projects along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

Airline and cruise partners are expected to expand connectivity, with new routes already secured from Germany and other European markets.

The timing is strategic. With the 2030 World Cup on the horizon, demand for rooms in Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, and Tangier is projected to surge. Infrastructure projects — including new high-speed rail links, expanded airports, and sustainable water management systems — are already underway, reducing execution risk for investors.

Analysts note that Morocco’s tourism sector has proven remarkably resilient, rebounding strongly post-pandemic and consistently outperforming many Mediterranean peers in occupancy rates and average daily rates.

The combination of cultural authenticity, year-round sunshine, and competitive development costs makes the Kingdom particularly attractive at a time when European construction costs remain elevated and Red Sea disruptions have shifted some leisure flows westward.