Behind the figure lies above all a bet on infrastructure in Agadir, Marrakech, Rabat and Casablanca, and on the kingdom’s ability to hold its own in a fiercely contested market.
A numerical target for 2030
On Tuesday, answering an oral question on developing exhibition and conference infrastructure that meets international standards, the minister announced that Morocco aims to reach 2.3 million visitors in the so-called MICE sector by 2030. The acronym stands for meetings, incentives (trips that a company offers to its employees or partners as a reward), conferences and exhibitions. It covers a wide range of realities, from a two-day corporate seminar to a major international trade fair.
We note one point, however. In the remarks as reported, the minister does not give the segment’s current attendance, nor its share of the country’s tourism revenue. Without a starting point, it is hard to gauge the size of the effort required. The 2.3 million figure should therefore be read as a political ambition, whose credibility will depend on the baseline data the ministry is willing to publish.
Why public authorities are drawn to this segment
Fatim-Zahra Ammor presented business tourism as a strategic pillar of the kingdom’s tourism roadmap. She put forward three arguments: the segment promotes destinations, generates high added value and reduces the seasonality of tourism activity.
That last point deserves a closer look. Morocco’s tourism offer remains strongly marked by leisure travel, with peaks and troughs that hoteliers know well. A conference or trade show, by contrast, is more likely to take place outside the main holiday periods. It fills rooms, halls and flights at times when they would otherwise be underused. The government sees the segment as a growth engine capable of attracting high-spending visitors and keeping hotels, carriers and service providers busy all year round.
One must nonetheless distinguish the argument from the proof. The idea that business travelers spend more than leisure tourists is common in the industry, but here it remains a government position. To measure its relevance in Morocco, one would need spending data by type of visitor, which the statement does not provide.
The country is not entering this segment on virgin ground. In 2016, Marrakech hosted the United Nations climate conference, COP22, and in October 2023 the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These events showed that the city knows how to stage major international gatherings. They also served as a reminder that top-tier hosting capacity is a prerequisite for attracting more of them.
The announced projects at a glance
The minister detailed several projects, at very different stages of progress.
- Current capacity: around 135,000 business tourism and congress seats, spread across various destinations in the kingdom.
- Agadir: a 5,000-seat convention center expected by the end of 2026.
- Marrakech: a 20,000-seat convention center under construction, described as meeting the most demanding international standards.
- Rabat: a signed agreement for a new exhibition center, representing an investment of 700 million dirhams.
- Casablanca: a feasibility study under way for a convention center with a 2030 horizon.
These announcements invite a few comparisons, which are ours and not the minister’s. Marrakech’s 20,000 seats would represent about 15% of the capacity currently cited, and Agadir’s 5,000 nearly 4%. Together, the two projects would therefore add a little under a fifth to the existing base. It remains to be seen whether the 135,000 figure already includes these facilities, and whether the “seats” counted are comparable, whether they refer to conference-hall seating or hotel capacity. The remarks as reported do not say, and we prefer not to take a position.
Marrakech, the showcase
The Marrakech project is by far the most ambitious. According to the minister, it should help position the city among the world’s top ten destinations for business tourism and international events. That is a ranking objective, and therefore measurable, which is welcome. It nonetheless means measuring up against cities long established in this market, which have dense air links, a network of professional organizers and a large hotel stock near their convention centers. Marrakech has image assets and an international reputation already secured. The delivery schedule, which the minister did not specify in the remarks as reported, will be an indicator to watch closely.
Casablanca and Rabat, two files of a different nature
Casablanca is the most open case. The kingdom’s economic capital has, at this stage, neither a confirmed site nor a defined partnership framework for its project: the minister indicated that discussions were continuing on both points, and that the target date was 2030. It is worth noting that this deadline coincides with the football World Cup that Morocco is co-hosting with Spain and Portugal, but the remarks as reported do not draw that link, and we refrain from drawing conclusions from it.
In Rabat, the file is further along. An agreement has been signed for an exhibition center worth 700 million dirhams, or, as a rough guide, around 65 to 70 million euros depending on the exchange rate. Funding will be shared between the ministry and regional authorities. In the information available to us, no private partner is mentioned for this project, which sets it apart from Casablanca, where a partnership framework has yet to be defined. Choosing shared public financing has the advantage of clarity, but it commits public funds and assumes that the facility will then find a balanced operating model.
What will determine success
Building halls and plenary rooms is not enough. Ammor herself stressed that these projects require financing, investor mobilization and lengthy construction processes. In our view, several other factors belong on that list, even though the minister did not mention them in the remarks as reported:
- air connectivity, which determines whether international delegations will come;
- hotel and service offerings in the immediate vicinity of the venues;
- the presence of professional organizers and a regular calendar of events;
- commercial outreach to the associations and companies that choose host cities.
Supporters of this strategy see it as a lever for diversification and a way to establish Morocco among the meeting platforms of the Mediterranean basin and Africa. The more cautious point out that an underused convention center is costly to maintain, and that success depends as much on filling it as on building it. The two readings are not mutually exclusive: they say that the calendar of events to be hosted will have to be planned alongside the construction schedule.
Finally, the minister reaffirmed the ministry’s willingness to support initiatives to develop the sector in regions that have the infrastructure, economic potential and appeal needed to host major international events. The wording suggests a selective logic: not every city will get its own convention center, and the best-equipped territories will be served first.
An ambition to be judged over time
Morocco has set itself a clear target, 2.3 million visitors in 2030, and has begun to back it with concrete projects. What remains to be seen is how far it will be met. We will be following several milestones: the announced opening of the Agadir center by the end of 2026, progress on the Marrakech site, the decision on Casablanca’s location and structure, and the publication of attendance indicators that will finally allow progress since the starting point to be measured. It is by these elements, more than by announcements, that we will judge whether Moroccan business tourism is changing scale.
Frequently asked questions
What does MICE stand for?
It stands for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. The term refers to organized business tourism.
What is Morocco’s target for 2030?
Tourism Minister Fatim-Zahra Ammor said the country is aiming for 2.3 million visitors in this segment by 2030.
Which convention centers are planned?
A 5,000-seat center is expected in Agadir by the end of 2026, a 20,000-seat center is under construction in Marrakech, and an exhibition center worth 700 million dirhams is to be built in Rabat.
Will Casablanca get a convention center?
It is under study. A feasibility assessment is under way with a 2030 horizon, but the site and partnership framework have not yet been settled.
