UN Tourism opens its first African office in Morocco

This week, Morocco and UN Tourism signed a historic agreement to open the organisation’s first thematic office in Africa, which will be located in Rabat. This office will focus on promoting innovation and encouraging investment in the tourism sector across the continent.  

Through this agreement, signed in Marrakech by the Minister of Tourism, Fatim-Zahra Ammor, and the Secretary General of the UN for Tourism, Zurab Pololikashvili, the new office will carry out innovative activities to boost the tourism sector in Africa, including training sessions and workshops aimed at key players in the public and private sectors of member countries. 

The office will also organise conferences on tourism innovation, forums and startup competitions at a continental level. ‘The choice of Morocco as the location for the first tourism thematic office in Africa reinforces the Kingdom’s leadership in the continent’s tourism development,’ said Ammor.

The minister also pointed out that the office will support the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Tourism in Africa, positioning the sector as ‘an engine of development on the continent, in line with the vision of King Mohammed VI for joint African action.

Pololikashvili, for his part, emphasised that the office will ensure decentralised communication and coordination with partners, especially with members of UN Tourism, while contributing to the socio-economic development of African tourist destinations. 

The agreement was signed in Marrakech by Tourism Minister Fatim-Zahra Ammor and UN Secretary General for Tourism Zurab Pololikashvili – PHOTO/ @pololikashvili  

This agreement comes after UN Tourism published a new report highlighting Morocco’s tourism achievements. The report, entitled ‘Tourism Doing Business: Investing in Morocco’, reveals that the country received 17.4 million international visitors in 2024, representing a 35% increase compared to 2019 levels. In addition, tourism revenues reached 10.5 billion dollars in 2023. 

Pololikashvili also met with Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on Monday to discuss strengthening the partnership between Morocco and UN Tourism. During the meeting, Bourita highlighted key events, such as the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup, as opportunities to boost sustainable tourism. 

The agreement comes as UN Tourism released a new report highlighting Morocco’s tourism achievements – PHOTO/ @pololikashvili  

Meanwhile, Pololikashvili announced plans to translate his promotional book on investment opportunities in Morocco into several languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and French.

According to the UN Tourism report, the contribution of the tourism sector to Morocco’s GDP increased from 3.7% in 2020 to 7.3% in 2023, while the country received 2.2 billion dollars in foreign direct investment in tourism between 2014 and 2023. 

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