Different Nationalities 'Head to Morocco'

Holidaymakers from Europe are increasingly choosing to spend their leisure time in Morocco, a government official has stated.

Tourism minister Mohamed Boussaid said the overall number of visitors rose by 13 per cent to 7.45 million last year.

Speaking to the Maghreb Arabe Presse, he revealed that many of these people had come from various European countries.

According to official figures, 2.85 million French consumers visited Morocco last year, along with 1.6 million Spaniards.

Meanwhile, the country was also found to have attracted a large number of Belgians, Germans, Italians and Britons.

Commenting on Morocco's tourist sector, Mr Boussaid said the recent growth was proving to be a major economic boost.

He stated that the increase in visitor numbers was leading to the creation of new jobs and contributing a significant amount to the national gross domestic product.

This comes at the same time as figures from the UN World Tourist Organisation which showed that Africa as a whole attracted 44 million leisure travellers last year.