Tourism Morocco’s medinas given $800m facelift to lure tourists The kingdom hopes its old cities, with their alleyways and history, will attract more travellers By Alice Morrison July 21, 2024, 6:58 AM Alice Morrison The Marrakech medina has already benefitted from its renovated roof Morocco has invested MAD7.9 billion ($805 million) to upgrade 21 old medinas across the country as the government seeks to increase tourism levels. The kingdom’s walled old cities, known as medinas, with their narrow passageways and thick clay-built ramparts, are iconic to the North African country. Following the destruction of Aleppo in Syria, Fez is now the largest contiguous medina in the world. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week Medinas are an essential part of Morocco’s tourist proposition, Charlie Shepherd, founder of Epic Travel in Marrakech, tells AGBI. “One of the principal reasons that people come to Morocco is to explore the medinas,” he says. “It is certainly a top three reason. They like the labyrinthine quality – Marrakech with its 9,000 alleyways. It is a magical dream for people to be lost in a medieval maze.” Alamy via ReutersA traditional leather tannery in Old Fez, where workers use vats of dye for tanning leather hides and skins The new renovation plan, announced in parliament this week by the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, appears to be working. The latest figures show that more than 7 million tourists travelled to Morocco during the first half of 2024. This is an increase of 14 percent compared with last year. Much work has already been carried out. In the Rabat, Fez and Marrakech medinas, the old doors have been replaced by standardised wooden ones and many of the alleyways have been given wooden, latticed roofs. Each city has its own needs. Essaouira, for example, suffers from high humidity but repainting the white walls and blue shutters is an important, and often challenging, part of the process. The project also aims to improve the lives of the medina dwellers with work on sewage systems and paving. Pexels/Meliani DrissThe Rabat medina, where new wooden doors have been installed while maintaining the character of the old buildings Akhannouch has highlighted the need to get the work completed quickly and confirmed the government’s acceleration of the programme. Forty percent of the budget comes from The Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development and each city receives a share. There are many other partners too, including the Ministries of Housing and Tourism. Tourism is one of Morocco’s big foreign currency earners and revenue from the travel sector reached $3.2 billion at the end of April. “The kingdom’s unique assets, combined with the implementation of the tourism roadmap are paying off,” says Fatima Zahra Ammor, the minister of tourism. Her aim is to attract more than 17.5 million tourists between now and 2026 and she says this goal is “closer than ever”.