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Morocco to Spend $580 Mln to Attract More Tourists

People walk past a solar tree that generates energy using panels, in front of the landmark Kotoubia mosque in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 12, 2022. (AP)
People walk past a solar tree that generates energy using panels, in front of the landmark Kotoubia mosque in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 12, 2022. (AP)
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Morocco to Spend $580 Mln to Attract More Tourists

People walk past a solar tree that generates energy using panels, in front of the landmark Kotoubia mosque in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 12, 2022. (AP)
People walk past a solar tree that generates energy using panels, in front of the landmark Kotoubia mosque in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 12, 2022. (AP)

Morocco plans to spend 6.1 billion dirhams ($580 mln) up to 2026 to develop its tourism sector in order to attract more visitors and bring in hard currency, the government said on Friday.

The government plans to spend more money on marketing, develop more types of attractions for tourists, upgrade hotels and build new ones, and train more people to work in the sector, the prime minister's office said.

It aims to attract 17.5 million tourists by 2026, up from 11 million last year. In 2019 Morocco had 13 million visitors.

The plan would help create 200,000 new jobs in the sector over the next four years, the government said.

Last year, the sector's revenue more than doubled compared to 2021 to 91 billion dirhams, exceeding 2019 levels.

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Egypt’s Net Foreign Assets Jump in March after IMF Review Approval

Visitors look out towards the Giza pyramid complex as they tour the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo on May 5, 2025. (AFP)
Visitors look out towards the Giza pyramid complex as they tour the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo on May 5, 2025. (AFP)
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Egypt’s Net Foreign Assets Jump in March after IMF Review Approval

Visitors look out towards the Giza pyramid complex as they tour the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo on May 5, 2025. (AFP)
Visitors look out towards the Giza pyramid complex as they tour the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo on May 5, 2025. (AFP)

Egypt's net foreign assets jumped by $4.9 billion in March, central bank data showed, apparently boosted by the approval of the fourth review of the country's IMF program.

Net foreign assets climbed to the equivalent of $15.08 billion from $10.18 billion at the end of February, according to Reuters calculations based on official central bank currency exchange rates.

The International Monetary Fund in early March approved the disbursement to Egypt of $1.2 billion after completing its review of the country's $8 billion economic reform program. It also approved a request for a $1.3 billion arrangement under the IMF's resilience and sustainability facility.

Foreign investors were significant purchasers of Egyptian pound treasury bills after the approval and as one-year bills acquired after the March 2024 IMF agreement matured, two bankers said.

Egypt had been using foreign assets, which include assets held by both the central bank and commercial banks, to help prop up its currency since as long ago as September 2021. Net foreign assets turned negative in February 2022 and only returned to positive territory in May last year.

Foreign assets increased in February at both the central bank and commercial banks, while foreign liabilities rose at the central bank but declined at commercial banks.