The runaway success of short breaks to Marrakesh has put pressure on the city’s bedstock, prompting the Moroccan National Tourist Office to look to Morocco’s oldest city, Fes, as an alternative destination.
MNTO director UK and Ireland Ali El Kasmi said: “This winter in Marrakesh we had aircraft seats available but no beds to sell. Summer is usually the low season because of the heat, but last summer we had over-booking at hotels.
“Everyone wants to go to Marrakesh. It’s popular for short breaks and conference and incentives trips.”
City-break operators and conference and incentive organisers are not the only ones competing for hotels during the country’s high season from October to May.
Golf operators are also part of the equation. Destination Golf and British Airways Holidays’ Club Golf offer the city’s three courses – the Palmeraie Palace, the Amelkis and the Royal Golf Marrakesh – which are now very popular on the international circuit.
Then there is trekking product. A raft of soft-adventure specialists, including The Imaginative Traveller and Walks Worldwide, run guided walks in the nearby High Atlas Mountains, using Marrakesh as a kick-off point for tours.
The tourist office’s plan is to spread visitors around the country by increasing awareness of alternative city-break destinations.
El Kasmi said: “We think Fes could generate the same level of interest in the UK as Marrakesh. It is the oldest city in Morocco and North Africa, and is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation World Heritage Site.”
“It is an ancient city full of culture. Just outside, in the High Atlas, there are the beautiful villages of Ifrane and Immouzer. And around six miles away, the spas of Moulay Yacoub and Sidi Harazem,” he added.
Fes is already in some UK brochures. But apart from Cadogan Holidays and Travelscene, which both offer two-centre packages with Marrakesh, the rest of the pack – Panorama, Abercrombie and Kent, Cox and Kings and Hayes and Jarvis – only offer it as an overnight sightseeing stop on a tour of the country.
El Kasmi said: “The majority of the operators who feature Morocco do not have Fes, and those that do offer it only as part of an Imperial Cities tour.
“We want tour operators to consider it as a destination in its own right, with its own page in their brochures.”
The potential downside of Fes as a short-break destination is the lack of direct flights from the UK.
Royal Air Maroc general manager UK and Eire Charaf-Eddine Lamriki said: “Obviously direct flights are best for the short-breaks market but since last summer, we’ve had a daily connection to Fes from our hub in Casablanca.”
The airline has daily flights from Heathrow to Casablanca.
For agents who want to find out more about Fes, the MNTO has produced a glossy 15-page brochure of the city.
Also in the pipeline is an educational for agents to Fes – the MNTO is currently approaching tour operators, airlines and hoteliers to help arrange a trip later this year.