With 20 million arrivals in 2025, Morocco is now the fastest-growing tourist destination in Africa.
A select group of Travellers Choice agents got to find out why recently when they explored the country’s northern region on a six-night Intrepid educational.
Eight agents were chosen to participate in the Intrepid trip, which highlighted the depth and diversity of Morocco’s tourism product, as well as the country’s rapid infrastructure and transport developments as it prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The round-trip started on the Atlantic coast in Casablanca, home to Hassan II Mosque, one of the world’s largest places of worship, with space for 25,000 souls inside its prayer hall.
The group then travelled at speeds of more than 300km an hour on a TGV train to the port city of Tangier, just 32 kilometres from the southern coast of Spain, before continuing to the foothills of the Rif Mountains to wander the blue-hued buildings of Chefchaouen.
After calling in at the ancient Berber-Roman city of Volubilis, the agents finally arrived in the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco, Fes, where they immersed themselves in the Old City’s medina, one of the largest car-free urban zones in the world and home to craftspeople, markets, mosques and Fes’ famous tanneries.
For Bridget Swain from Chris Watson Travel it was her “first time in Morocco, first time in Africa and first Intrepid tour”.
“I found the people very welcoming and the destination extremely safe”, Ms Swain said. “The environment was also different from what I had expected, because there was lots of greenery rather than simply desert.
“In terms of the destinations, one of the many highlights was Chefchaouen, where we walked up to the Spanish Mosque and looked out over the medina and all the different shades of blue as the sun set.
“The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca was also magnificent, with non-Muslims allowed inside to view the beautiful architecture, which even includes a glass floor where you can look down into the ritual cleansing rooms (wudu stations).”
Casablanca’s mosque was also a standout for Select World Travel’s Daniel Popescu, along with Chouara Tannery in Fes, where since at least the 11th century leather has been dipped into stone vats filled with natural dyes.
“It blows your mind to see how much effort, by so many people, goes into making one small leather piece,” said Mr Popescu, who is hoping to return to explore further.
