São Paulo – Morocco is betting on expanding direct flights to Brazil and promoting the country as a tourist destination among Brazilians to reach the goal of receiving 30 million tourists by 2030. In 2024, Morocco welcomed 17.4 million visitors, most of them from and Spain.
During the WTM Latin America tourism fair, held earlier this week in São Paulo, the representative of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT) in Brazil, Mohamed Amine El Joudani, told ANBA that Morocco welcomed 40,000 Brazilian tourists last year, a number expected to be sured this year. By the end of February, 7,900 Brazilians had visited Morocco, a 51% increase compared to the same period last year, according to data from the local Ministry of Tourism.
According to Joudani, the country is investing in improving its airport infrastructure, will build a high-speed train line between Casablanca and Marrakesh, and will host international events to promote its tourism. Later this year, it will host the Africa Cup of Nations, and in 2030 it will be one of the host countries for the World Cup.
Royal Air Maroc resumed flights to Brazil in December of last year, after two previous periods of operation in the country, between the 1970s and 1990s, and between 2013 and 2020. The general manager of Royal Air Maroc in Brazil, Othman Baba, said the average occupancy rate of the flight between Casablanca and São Paulo is over 80%. The airline currently operates three weekly flights between Casablanca and São Paulo and is already preparing to expand its offerings.
“In eight to ten months, we’ll fly more than three flights. Our focus now is on five to six flights to São Paulo,” he says. Rio de Janeiro, he adds, is also in the company’s plans, which is still evaluating whether to make a stop in the Rio de Janeiro before heading to São Paulo or operate a direct flight between Morocco and Rio. “My preference is to fly separately to Rio and separately to São Paulo,” he says.
He says that, as the weekly frequencies increase, a new aircraft will likely be added to the route between Morocco and Brazil. As is already the case, it is expected to be a Boeing 787-9, one of the most modern aircraft in operation, capable of carrying 300 engers.
Baba argues that the Rio de Janeiro destination is important because Rio is internationally recognized as a tourist destination and could even boost the arrival of tourists to Brazil. Both Baba and Joudani emphasize that Morocco is in a strategic geographical position between Brazil and Europe, as well as between Brazil and Africa. Joudani says that, once in Morocco, Brazilians have been opting for a tourist route that includes the imperial cities, such as Marrakesh, Fez, Meknes, and the capital, Rabat.
Corporate travel between Morocco and Brazil
Another business opportunity to be explored by Royal Air Maroc, says Baba, is corporate travel for tourists from both Morocco and Brazil, particularly from the industry and agribusiness sectors. However, this route needs to be encouraged and presented to entrepreneurs, Baba says. For this, he relies on the of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) and its counterpart in Morocco.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
