3) THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

For analyzing the country’s environment, as Kotler, Haider and Rein (1993) call
it: conducting a
place audit, PEST and SWOT analysis tools were used. These tools organize
information about a
certain environment according to some models that contain the most relevant
elements of the
place.
3.1 PEST Analysis
According to Morrison (2000, p. 23), the PEST Analysis is a tool used in
formulating business
strategy and it deals with the exterior environment of an organization. It offers a
succint and
general overview of a country, emphasising major features within a specific
national territory or
region. It portrays mostly long time trends in a certain environment, focusing on
the important
factors that may influence a company.
PEST stands for political, economic, sociocultural and technlogical environment
factors in a
country.
1) Political (legal) environment focuses on the existing government, political
forces and
their “political colour”, the stability of the system, their attitude towards and
involvement
in business. It also can offer predictions for future collaboration with companies
and
private enterprises (in the case of a favourable environment) or, on the
contrary, future
restrictions that might apply for the economic sector. The analysis should also
focus on
the legislation passed by the political sphere.
2) Economic environment presents the general outlines of the economy and its
trends
(growing or in recession). It also offers information about the wages in a country
and the
sectors on which people spend most of their money. Furthermore, it exemplifies
areas
where business is experiencing the biggest growth or the distribution of the
unemployment variation.
3) Sociocultural environment addresses the issues concerning the population, its
level of
education, cultural and social diversity (number and distance between social
classes), the
17
role of women in the society, the common family structure (pattern of family
life) and
cultural inherited traditions and rituals that might affect an industry.
4) Technological environment expresses the level of technology education and
training, the
acceptance and usage of new technological devices by the population, the
encouragement
of technological innovation and funding for technology development.
3.2 SWOT Analysis
According to Morrison (2000, p. 25), the SWOT Analysis is a tool used to
determine a
company’s strategic position on the market in terms of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and
threats. The distinctive competences of a company result from these factors
which are related to
both internal and external environments. The strengths and the weaknesses
indicate a company’s
internal factors and opportunities and threats are factors that are gathered by
scanning the
external environment.
1) Strengths focus on the positive factors behind a company’s success. These
factors indicate
the parts where the company has an advantage over competitors. It might be
related to the
structure of the company, the marketing objectives and strategies used, the use
of
information technology.
2) Weaknesses address the weak points in a company, they are the drawbacks a
company
faces. These weaknesses are related to the internal environment, inside the
firm. Examples
of weaknesses within a company are: delayed customer care, lack of
communication
between managerial levels, or unclear corporate strategy and objectives.
3) Opportunities are the “chances” a company was given to prosper by the
external
environment. The factors included in this dimension are related to the social,
cultural,
political, legal, economic and technical environment. If the company can take
advantage
of these characteristics in the external environment and use them towards
achieving its
goals, then they are called opportunities.
18
4) Threats are the factors in the external environment of the company that
hinder it. They
might be related to the number and strength of competitors, the need for the
products or
services delivered by the company, or the current level or the expected direction
of
consumer demand.
The SWOT Analysis can be carried out at different managerial levels within the
company. The
impressions of the planning teams on the SWOT Analysis differ significantly:
most common, the
higher managerial levels tend to offer a large and generous perspective or
overview and consider
the organizational factors as strengths, while the lower managerial layers
delimitate marketing
and financial factors. (Mintzberg quoted in Morrison 2000, p. 27).
SWOT should be used in formulating strategies by the company. It helps pointing
out the
advantages and the disadvantages in an external environment for a certain
company, but at the
same time it indicates what are the advantages or the disadvantages a
company has over its
competitors. By using SWOT, a company, Morocco in our case, can take
advantage of the
opportunities and eliminate or minimize the threats arising in the external
environment.
4) FINDINGS
4.1 Facts About Morocco (P.E.S.T)
To understand and analyse the tourism sector in Morocco, it is important to have
a clear
understanding of the country itself. As tourism is an activity that relates to social
and cultural
aspects of the country, it is essential to have an idea about the history, the
geography, and the
government of Morocco under King Mohammed VI. In this section, we will
provide an overview
about each of these points.
4.1.1 Political factors - Government
According to the CIA factbook (2006), the conventional long form of the name of
the country is:
Kingdom of Morocco, the conventional short form is: Morocco, the local long
form is: Al
Mamlakah al Maghribiyah, and the local short form is: Al Maghrib. Morocco is a
constitutional
monarchy, with a popularly-elected parliament. The King of Morocco, with vast
executive
powers, can dissolve government and deploy the military, among other
responsibilities.
Opposition political parties are legal and several have arisen in recent years.
The legal system in
Morocco is based on Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law system with
judicial review of
legislative acts in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court.
According to CIA Factbook (2006), the chief of state is King Mohammed VI (since
July 30,
1999), the head of the government is right now Prime Minister Driss Jettou
(since October 09,
2002). The council of ministers is appointed by the monarch. There are no
elections, the monarch
is hereditary; the prime minister is appointed by the monarch following
legislative elections.
Morocco has a bicameral parliament consisting of an upper house or Chamber of
Counsellors
(270 seats, the members are elected indirectly by local councils, professional
organizations, and
33
labour syndicates for nine-year terms; one-third of the members are renewed
every three years),
and a lower house or Chamber of Representatives (325 seats, 295 by multi-seat
constituencies
and 30 from national lists of women; the members are elected by popular vote
for five-year
terms). The judicial branch consists of a Supreme Court (judges are appointed
on the
recommendation of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, presided over by the
monarch).
The flag of Morocco is red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known
as Sulayman's
(Solomon's) seal in the center of the flag; red and green are traditional colors in
Arab flags; the
design of the Moroccan flag dates to 1912.
4.1.2 Economic Factors
Providing economic information about Morocco gives a clear idea about the
overall situation of
the country, it also helps identify what strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats that are
present for the development of many sectors, particularly the tourism sector.
Economic
information includes data about foreign direct investments, balance of
payments, and wages in
the country and GDP by sector of origin. As of May 26, 2006 the exchange rate
from xe.com
used in the rest of the paper was of: 1.00 USD United States Dollars = 8.63 MAD
Moroccan
Dirham
_ National minimum wages
Knowing the minimum wages in a country helps to get an idea of the standard
of living. The table
below shows the national minimum wages but only until end 2004.
Table 2. National Minimum Wages in Morocco (in US Dollars), July 1996 –
December 2004
July 1996 – June
2000
July 2000 – June
2004
July 2004 –
December 2004
GIMS ( $US per
Hour ) 1 /
GAMS ( $US per
Day ) 2 /
0.93
4.80
1.02
5.28
1.12
5.80
1/ GIMS: Guaranteed Inter-professional Minimum Salary.
2/ GAMS: Guaranteed Agricultural Minimum Salary.
Source: International Monetary Fund (2005), Morocco Statistical Index.
34
_ Tourism in Foreign Direct Investment
According to IMF (2005), foreign direct investment affects many sectors and has
direct impact
and benefits for the whole economy of a country. According to the IMF (2005)
the total amount
of investments in Morocco for the period 2000-2004 increased from 4,794.8 to
9,119.9 millions
Moroccan (1,056 Million $US). The tourist sector benefited from these
investments during that
period, the figures increased from 186.5 millions Moroccan dirhams in 2000 to
1,519.3 millions
in 2004 (176 Million $US).
_ Balance of Payments
According to IMF (2005) the account in 2000 indicated that the Moroccan
government had a
negative balance of payments –478 million $US. However, in 2003 the balance
of payments was
1,591 million $US and the estimation for 2004 was 1,109 million $US. Out of this
the
contribution of tourism receipts (as part of service industry) was 2,039 million
$US (in 2000)
and the estimated sum for 2004 was 3,920 million $US.
_ GDP by sector of origin
According to IMF (2005), the GDP by sector was in 2004 as follows (tourism is
part of the
tertiary sector):
Table 3. GDP by sector
Sector Contribution to GDP
(millions of $ US)
Percent of GDP (%)
Primary sector 8158 15.9
Secondary sector 15 620 30.4
Tertiary sector 19 430 37.8
Government 8204 16
Source: Authors’ model
_ Economic Partnerships
Bouoiyour, Rey (2005, p. 302) mention that the Barcelona Conference on 27–28
November 1999
established a new Euro-Mediterranean partnership between the 15 member
states of the European
35
Union and 12 countries of the eastern and western Mediterranean, including
Morocco. This
partnership is founded on three aspects: political and security aspects; a social
and human aspect;
and an economic and financial aspect. The Council put forward an action plan
for achieving a
Euro-Mediterranean economic area based on free trade by 2010.
Bouoiyour, Rey (2005, p. 304) point out that the Moroccan economy was
considered as being the
most liberal and the most open by all the countries of the Maghreb (North
Africa). Its productive,
commercial and banking structures are the most directed by the private
initiative and the most
exposed to foreign markets. It is the result of a fundamental political choice
made by Morocco to
maintain close relationships with the rest of the world and particularly with the
West. This
opening up of the foreign markets leads Morocco to face outside shocks,
especially oil ones.
Moreover, Bouoiyour and Rey (2005, p. 380) mention that the sector-based
distribution of FDI
shows that until 1996, the manufacturing industries occupied the first rank (27
percent between
1983 and 1996). Building came in second place with 20 percent, followed by the
financial sector
with 12 percent, while tourism was ranked fourth with 7 percent for the same
period. Between
1996 and 1998, the financial sector soared up the list, but manufacturing
industries always
occupied the first rank. The last three years have seen a telecommunications
boom with the
privatization of the sector.
4.1.3 Social aspects
According to the CIA World Factobook (2006), the population of Morocco exceeds
33 million,
and the age structure is as follows : 31.6 % is occupied by the young population
(up to 14 years
of age) and 63.4% people between 15 and 65, only 5% of the total population is
older than 65.
The statistics indicate that Morocco has an increasingly young population, as the
population
growth rate is positive 1.55%. The migration rate is negative (-0.87 out of
1,000), meaning that
there are more people that leave the county compared to the ones the country
is attracting.
CIA World Factbook (2006) mentions that the majority of the population (99.1%)
are Arabs, only
0.2% are of Jewish origin and 0.7% are classified as other ethnic origin by the
CIA World
36
Factbook. Therefore the main religion is Muslim (98.7%), Christians represent
1.1% of the total
population and 0.2% is covered by Jews.
Although the official language is Arabic, French is used in most business
environments as well as
in the government or any diplomatic encounter. According to CIA Factbook
(2006), the literacy
rate is 51.7% for the total population, where men account for 64.1% and 39.4%
of women are
literate (according to 2003 estimations).
_ History
According to Wikipedia (2006), in the 7th century, present Morocco was invaded
by the Arabs,
which brought to the region Islamic customs and traditions. The distant
leadership from Baghdad
(Abbasid caliphs) led to the country’s independence founded by Idris ibn Salih,
who founded the
Idrisid Dynasty. This Arab dynasty was replaced by a series of Berber origin
dynasties under
which the country reached high levels of reginal power and education centres.
Morocco ruled
most of Northwest Africa and parts of the Islamic Iberia or Andalous (present
south of Spain)
under the rule of the Almoravids and then the Almohads. Although the country
underwent many
changes in the period between 1666 and 1912, the Alaouite Dynasty gained
control (they are still
ruling nowadays). This period was characterized by a series of aggression
campaigns from Spain
and the Ottoman Empire (that extended towards the west). The Alaouite
dynasty succeded in
stabilizing their position, although the country lost territories (even so it
remained quite weathy).
The relationships between Morocco and the United States date back to 1777,
when Morocco was
the first country to recognize the US as an independent nation. In Tangier, the
American
government owned their first abroad property (under the form of a consulate).
This building
became the Tangier American Legation Museum.
More recent conflicts or international issues (according to CIA Factbook 2006)
concern Western
Sahara. Morocco annexed this region to the country in the late 1970s, but a final
and undisputed
resolution on the status of the territory is not solved yet. Although the Morrocan
government
rules this region, most of the maps do not include Western Sahara as part of
Morocco.
37
_ Culture
Locum Destination Review (2002) published a short article describing the
cultural tourism
opportunities in Morocco. The country is described as a ‘sun, sea and sand
holidays and cultural
tourism’ destination. Moreover, it attracts those looking for adventure tourism
(practicing sports
like: tennis, trekking, desert safaris or hang gliding). In this section we will
however focus on the
cultural aspects.
The cultural heritage of Morocco is extremly vast and archeological sites date
back to the Roman
Empire. In the 300 listed sites, one can find Volubilis, once a Roman town, or the
imperial cities
of Marrakech, Meknes and Fez. In 2003, according to the Locum Destination
Review article,
Moroccan history and cultural heritage includes seven World Heritage Sites: the
Medina of Fez
(1981), the Medina of Marrakech (1985), Ksar Ait-Ben-Haddou (1987), the
historic city of
Meknes (1996), the archeological site of Volubilis (1997), the Medina of Tetouan
(1997) and the
Medina of Essouira (2001), formerly called Mogador and which was a Portuguese
fortress. All
these sites make a big difference in the way the place is perceived. For example,
after the town of
Volubilis was ranked as a World Heritage Site the number of tourists attracted to
this location
increased dramatically (Locum Destination Review 2002).
Morocco has an abundance of historic buildings, but most of their status is in
poor condition.
Insufficient funds are the main obstacle to restore and improve the image of the
buildings. Since
the government funding is limited, some of the major works have been
undertaken by private
companies, and the result of some of the restoration efforts is a large number of
museums now
opened to the public (for example Art Villa Deco des Arts in Casablanca, the
Medersa Ben
Youssef and the Mnebhi palace in Marrakech and the Nejjarine comple of
buildings now house a
museum of wooden artefacts in Fez). According to Britannica (2006), the city of
Casablanca has
the highest mosque in the world and is called “Hassan II Mosque” named after
the former King
Hassan II father of the actual King Mohammed VI.
Marrakech is a cultural heritage by itself. Britannica (2006) mentions that
Marrakech is called the
“red city” because of the colour of the buildings built from beaten clay, during
the Almohads
dynasty. In the centre of the medina, a vibrant, crowded marketplace can be
found, called Jamaa
el-Fna square. Another important aspect of culture is represented by religion and
in Marrakech,
38
the 12th century old Koutoubia Mosque is accompanied by aa 77 metre tall
minaret. The 12th
century wall still surrounds most of the old city centre (the medina) and one of
the most
apreciated gates to the city is the stone gate Bab Agnaou.
Besides the large architectural heritage, Morocco can also offer tourists a
glimpse at traditional
crafts. The most important ones are stone and wood carving, textile
manufacturing, leather
working and silver-smithing. In addition to these tangible aspects of culture,
Morocco also has a
lot of stories to tell. They represent the much larger intangible cultural heritage,
which also
includes festivals, dances and music.
Although the country tends to promote tourism as one of its major strategies for
sustainable
development (in which culture tourism represents a strong part), there are no
strong relations
between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture. One of the problems
encountered is
the relatively small budget that the Ministry of Culture disposes for restoring
monuments and
maintaining and promoting the country’s key cultural assets. This is why the
World Bank is
providing loans for the continuation of practice of traditional crafts in Fez and
restoration works
in Marrakech.
4.1.4 Technological factors
Although the telephone system is overall modern having the most important
capabilities, the
density of phone lines is rather low. In 2004, according to CIA World Factbook
(2006) there
were 4.6 main phone lines for 100 persons. During the same year, the number
of mobile phones
exceeded 9.3 million. More than one every ten Moroccans uses the Internet (the
number of users
for 2005 was 3.5 million).
As to what the infrastructure is concerned, Morocco disposes of 60 airports
(2005), out of which
25 have paved runways (CIA World Factbook 2006). Railways are estimated at
1,907 km, while
the total number of km of roadways is 57,700, out of which 32,550 km are
paved. The most
important ports include: Agadir, Casablanca, Mohammedia, Nador, Safi and
Tangier.
39
4.1.5 Geography
Figure 2. Location of Morocco
Source: http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll
Morocco is situated in Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and
the
Mediterranean Sea. The distance that separates Morocco from Europe is 14 km
(The Strait of
Gibraltar). The capital city is Rabat, the second largest city. Casablanca is the
largest city and is
considered as the economic heart of Morocco. According to the information
provided by CIA
Factbook (2006), Algeria borders Morocco to the east and southeast. There are
also four Spanish
enclaves on the Mediterranean coast: Ceuta, Melilla, Peñón de Vélez de la
Gomera and Peñón de
Alhucemas, as well as several islands including Perejil and Chafarinas. Off the
Atlantic coast the
Canary Islands belong to Spain, whereas Madeira to the north is Portuguese. To
the north,
Morocco is bordered by and controls part of the Strait of Gibraltar, giving it
power over the
waterways in and out of the Mediterranean Sea. The Rif mountains occupy the
region bordering
the Mediterranean from the north-west to the north-east. The Atlas Mountains
run down the
backbone of the country, from the south west to the north east (the highest
peak in the Atlas
mountains is Jebel Toubkal with a height of 4 165 m).
40
Most of the south east portion of the country is in the Sahara Desert and as such
is generally
scarsely populated and economically unproductive. Most of the population lives
in the north of
these mountains, while in the south is the desert. In the south lies the Western
Sahara, a former
Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco in 1975 by organizing the Green
March under the
initiative of Former King Hassan II (CIA Factbook 2006). Morocco claims that the
Western
Sahara is part of its territory and refers to it as its Southern Provinces.
Internationally, few
countries recognized the belonging of Western Sahara to Morocco, the solution
to that problem
remains between the hands of the United Nations.
Other Moroccan cities include Agadir, Essaouira (Mogador), Fez (the spiritual
capital),
Marrakech (the tourism capital), Meknes, Mohammadia, Oujda, Ouarzazat (the
movie-shooting
capital), Safi, Salè, Tangier (the international city), Tetouan, Tiznit, and Tan-Tan.
This position occupied by Morocco on the map, provides it with a mediterranean
climate closer
to the coast regions, and it is more extreme towards the interior of the country.
5) ANALYSIS
5.1 S.W.O.T Analysis
5.1.1 Strengths
Among the strengths that Morocco has as a destination, its geographical
diversity, its political
stability, its nature and culture, and the objectives of the 2010 vision. As
mentioned in the
findings, the geographical diversity of Morocco constitutes a third competitive
aspect. Morocco
can offer a very large variety of tourism activities leading to the coverage of all
segments
carrying European demand. The cultural tourism in winter (imperial cities and
millenarian
history) represents an interesting reason to discover the rich Moroccan culture,
especially when
the weather is cold in most of Europe. The renewed beach/leisure tourism in the
South, enriched
by the desert adventure or the charm of a specific old country (Essaouira),
mountain tourism in
the heart of the Atlas (trekking), medical tourism, golf tourism, and a worldly
renowned
gastronomy are all internal strengths that Morocco uses to promote its image
and attract more
tourists. Morocco is one the few countries in Africa that are known for its political
stability, the
dynasty of King Mohammed VI has ruled for many centuries and is still ruling
nowadays. Having
a stable constitutional monarchy for centuries allows to Morocco to keep and
monitor a stable
political life among political parties and the population.
Another strength is the fact that Morocco has certain objectives and strategies
for improving its
tourism industry. Most of these objectives are stated in the framework of Vision
2010 which the
government is working on under the initiative of the King. The main objectives
of the Kingdom
is to host 10 million tourists by 2010, build 80 000 rooms by 2010 and reaching
the capacity of
230 000 beds, and finally create more than 600 000 new job positions in the
tourism sector.
Morocco currently hosts almost 6 million tourists yearly; it already made an
increase of 2 million
between 2001 and 2004, which is 2 million tourists every 4 years. If Morocco
keeps the same
development pace, it will reach 8 million tourists by 2010. The objective is to
reach 10 million,
almost 60 % more than the number of tourists in 2006. To accomplish that,
Morocco needs to
consider all the strategies mentioned in the Vision 2010 and most of all double
all efforts it is
62
doing right now in tourism. To be able to host this number of tourists, there is
the need to
increase considerably the number of hotels and rooms, and this in all the
potential regions in both
the North and the South. This initiative will not only allow Morocco to host many
tourists, but
will create thousands of new employment positions that will benefit all the
parties involved in the
tourism industry: travel agencies, tour operators, personnel in hotels and
restaurants,
transportation companies, and small business companies that rely on tourism.
The agreements done with Ryanair, one of the most successful low cost air
companies in Europe,
will allow Morocco to have a very large competitive advantage over its main
competitors in
Africa: South Africa and Tunisia. Starting from October 2006, Ryanair will start to
serve two big
tourist cities in Morocco: Fez and Marrakech. This action will allow Morocco to
host 100 000
new tourists just for the year 2006, and that is a strength for Morocco which
became the first non-
European country to have signed such an agreement with Ryanair.
5.1.2 Weaknesses
All the mentioned types of tourism that constitute the strengths of Morocco are
very requested by
European tourists. The Kingdom of Morocco possesses an incredible potential of
non-valorised
resources, this is what makes the country have some weaknesses that may
prevent Morocco from
keeping a sustainable development in tourism. Among the major weaknesses in
Morocco, the
infrastructure in the isolated parts of the country, the education level of the
population, and the
perceived image of Morocco from potential tourists and from tourists who
already visited
Morocco or any other Arabic country.
The infrastructure in the main Moroccan cities is very modern, especially in
Rabat and
Casablanca, but in the rural areas where cultural tourism is held, tourists may
notice the low level
of infrastructure (non-paved roads, absence of electricity in small villages, and
lack of water
purification in small towns). That exists mostly in parts where tourists seek
adventure and wild
life, as it is the case in Sahara Desert. The other obstacle which affects not only
the tourism
industry, but the economy and development in general is the level of education
of people. In
2003, almost 51,7 % of the population were literate, this number is increasing at
a slow rate even
63
though it is expected to improve for this year and the coming years. This low
level of education is
considered a considerable internal weakness for Morocco because social
development is highly
related to people’s level of education and awareness.
Another weakness that Morocco is suffering from is the perceived image that
foreign tourists
have about Morocco and other Arab countries. There was one person in the
focus group
discussion that stated that he will not visit Morocco simply because he went to
Tunisia and he
was disappointed with the behaviour of people there. Many people have the
stereotyped idea that
in Morocco people try to sell products by force and that they try to cheat and
make products more
expensive simply because they are Europeans and have a higher income. There
is in fact a
number of merchants that try to increase the price for tourists because they
think they are much
more well paid in their countries, they think that products in Morocco are too
cheap for them, so
they try to exaggerate on the price and have more profit. This type of behaviour
is known to be
unfair by tourists and also by Moroccan tourism authorities who should establish
a better pricing
control system of products. Many tourists like to bargain, it is also considered an
art since both
the buyer and seller show their negotiation skills. Here is the point, bargaining is
good if it is
done fairly and legally. Tourists enjoy bargaining and dealing with merchants,
but at the same
time these merchants should be honest and reasonable. Moroccan authorities
should inform
tourists about the way they should behave with merchants. This is an important
action to take in
order to help tourists gain a better perceived image of the country.
5.1.3 Opportunities
One of the greatest advantages that Morocco has on its neighbouring countries
and its
competitors for tourism is its location. The proximity to Europe (14 km over the
Strait of
Gibraltar) adds a plus. This is translated in shorter air flights for West European
travellers. The
time spent on board of an aircraft is significantly shorter than for destinations
such as Egypt,
Turkey, Israel or the Canaries Islands. Its location offers both a coastline to the
Atlantic Ocean
and one to the Mediterranean Sea. This provides the country with varied seaside
resorts, located
on thousand of kilometres of sand beaches. The latitude of the beaches offer an
advantage as well
for year round tourism. Other popular destinations at the Mediterranean Sea
(like Spain, France,
64
Italy) do not have warm climate all year round, therefore the tourist season is
mostly the summer
one. In Morocco, beach tourism can be practiced through out the year (the sand
beaches in the
South of the country serve this purpose best).
When compared to other countries on the African continent, Morocco is the
second earner in
tourist receipts. It is positioned as the third African country as a tourist
destination, since it has
the third highest number of arrivals to its borders. This presents an excellent
opportunity in future
years for Morocco to host much more tourists, even though these rankings were
for year 2001.
Another opportunity for Morocco is the fact that it already has started a national
strategy to
attract more tourists. This strategic plan is called Vision 2010 and it is a
programme sustained
and implemented by the highest political levels in the country. Having a
common vision and
structured way of reaching it is an advantage when compared to other tourist
destinations that
have not made sustainable efforts in this field. The business opportunity with
Ryanair is also an
important one, as it will start in October 2006 and more European tourists will
visit Morocco, it
represents a major opportunity for Morocco to be known as a new and
interesting destination for
European tourists who never had the chance to visit Morocco.
5.1.4 Threats
One of the biggest threats that Morocco faces is a yet not very familiar and
popular image in
European countries. According to the answers to the questionnaire and the
results of the focus
group discussion, Morocco’s promotion abroad is quite low. Compared to its
African
competitors, Morocco is not very well presented on the international scale
despite its efforts in
international fairs or expositions. This lack of real, sustained promotion leads to
an unclear and
undifferentiated image of the country. As proven in the case of the focus group
discussion,
Morocco is assimilated to other North African, Arab countries and therefore does
not stand on its
own in people’s perceptions on image. Not having a unique, distinctive and
individualized image
brings negative repercussions to the country.
65
Another threat is the level of prices in Morocco. Although, it is a “cheaper”
destination for
tourists compared to most South European places, it is still more expensive than
Tunisia (this
information is retrieved from the answers of the questionnaire). As observed in
the focus group
discussion, at least for young travellers, price is one of the main determinants
when choosing a
tourist destination. The threat here is that young people may prefer to go to
Tunisia rather than
Morocco simply because they have been offered a cheaper travel package.
Although both Tunisia and Morocco have suitable climate for travelling all year
round, some
travel companies (My travel) promote and organize trips to Morocco mostly
during the winter
season from October to April. On the other hand and according to the answers of
the
questionnaire, Tunisia offers packages throughout the year, allowing the country
to have many
tourists during the summer season. From this perspective, the promotion
activities organized by
Tunisia attract tourists in all seasons, while Moroccan destinations benefit from
the presence of
tourists more during the winter period than the summer period.
The terrorist attacks of 9/11 affected all the countries in the world, including the
ones relying on
tourism as a main sector. The impact of 9/11 was also important for Morocco,
tourism figures
went down by 12,7% by the end of June of the next year. Morocco also suffered
a lot from the
terrorist attacks that happened in Casablanca in May 16th, 2003 and that
targeted Jewish and
American interests in the economical city. Even though Morocco is still
considered as one of the
most stable countries in Africa and the Arab world, similar attacks may happen
to any country
and may represent a real threat. Few years after these attacks, Morocco has well
recovered and is
welcoming every year more tourists from all over the world, but Moroccan
authorities should
constantly promote the image of Morocco within emitting markets as being a
very safe country.
for your cooperation !