ONMT Seeks to Boost Morocco’s Presence in Chinese Tourism Market

Rabat – Morocco’s Tourism Office (ONMT) is keen to secure a stronger presence in the Chinese market, which presents key opportunities for the Moroccan tourism sector.

The office announced its participation in the 2025 ITB China, which is taking place at the Shanghai World Exhibition between May 27 and 29.

The office’s goal is to promote Morocco as a top destination for Chinese travelers, ONMT said, noting that this market is a priority within its international expansion strategy.

“At ITB China, we are here to strengthen our relationships with Chinese tourism operators and co-create a new growth dynamic by capitalizing on Morocco’s unique appeal and the new air connectivity being developed,” the statement quoted ONMT General Director Achraf Fayda as saying.

Morocco is present at the exhibition with a stand of over 300 square meters, taking part in the exhibition alongside more than 600 international exhibitors from 80 countries.

ONMT has stressed the importance of the Chinese travel market,  which witnessed a spectacular recovery with 130 million outbound travelers in 2024.

This number is expected to reach 155 million in 2025, according to UN Tourism.

ONMT highlighted Morocco’s active presence at the event by announcing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with China’s largest online travel agency Trip.com.

The partnership spans three years, starting spring 2025, with the aim of achieving an ambitious target of 1.15 million overnight stays by Chinese tourists in Morocco by 2028.

The partnership also focuses on enhancing Morocco’s tourism appeal, including in related markets like Japan and Korea.

ONMT is also planning other partnerships with major players in the Chinese market, like Fliggy, CITS, UTS, and Shanghai Youpai International Travel.

“These agreements particularly target key source markets like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with a global goal of 100,000 additional overnight stays,” ONMT concluded.

Morocco welcomed 17.4 million tourists last year, and now aspires to attract more than 26 million tourists by 2030.

ONMT has been expanding efforts to support this goal by launching several campaigns, aiming to attract tourists from different markets.

The tourism sector is one of the main contributors to the country’s economy.

The Exchange Office said in February this year that travel revenues reached $11.1 billion in 2024, showing a growth of 7.5% compared to a year earlier.