Chinese tourists flock to Morocco

RABAT — Although August is a low season for tourism in Morocco, the North African nation’s hot weather hasn’t slowed the pace of Chinese arrivals.

From Casablanca to Tangier in the north, Chinese tourists can be seen in many of the cities along the country’s long Atlantic coast this month.

The number of Chinese visits has risen rapidly since Morocco announced the visa exemption for Chinese citizens in June 2016, and the boom looks set to continue.

Morocco has abundant tourism resources, with long Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, deserts, snowcapped mountains and ancient cities.

Nearly 120,000 Chinese traveled to Morocco in 2017, according to the Moroccan National Tourism Office’s representative bureau in China.

The number of Chinese tourists reached 100,000 in the first five months this year.

Chinese restaurants Morocco are among the sectors to benefit.

Liu Mei, owner of a Chinese restaurant in the capital, Rabat, says that the number of Chinese tourists dining in her restaurant has increased significantly after the visa exemption.

Her restaurant’s revenue doubled in 2017 compared to the previous year.

Huang Zhiyong, who owns a Chinese restaurant in Casablanca, says his restaurant is also doing good business. It receives an average of 6,000 customers per month, 70 percent of whom are Chinese tourists and businesspeople. in first