Morocco’s hosting of the 2030 World Cup, alongside Spain and Portugal, is anticipated to inject $1.2 billion into the kingdom’s economy, according to a report released by “VALORIS SECURITIES,” a Moroccan company specializing in financial analysis and stock brokerage.
In October last year, FIFA announced the acceptance of the joint bid from Morocco, Spain, and Portugal to host the World Cup, as it was the only bid submitted to organize the biggest football event globally.
The first three matches are planned to be held in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay to celebrate the competition’s centenary.
“VALORIS SECURITIES” highlighted in its report that if Morocco hosts a third of the total matches (104 in total), it would add between $850 million to $1.2 billion to its economy, at an average rate ranging from $25 to $37.5 million per match.
Morocco intends to renovate six football stadiums and construct a new stadium with a capacity exceeding 100,000 spectators, with a total cost of around 20.5 billion dirhams ($2 billion) in preparation for hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup.
The announcement of hosting the World Cup has already spurred investment projects in the kingdom by local and foreign companies, seeking to benefit from incentives provided by the new investment charter, which grants up to 30% of the total investment.
The kingdom aims to attract private sector investments to increase its share from the current third to two-thirds by 2035. The government has pledged to provide financial incentives to investors in infrastructure, tourism, industry, health, and water sectors.
The accommodation capacity of the tourism sector in Morocco is expected to increase by 40,000 rooms to reach a total of 330,000 hotel rooms by 2026, according to the business plan of the government-owned tourism engineering company to meet the expected demand.
The number of tourists visiting the kingdom reached a record high of about 14.5 million tourists last year, a 33% increase annually, compared to 12.9 million tourists in 2019.
The sector generated revenues of 115 billion dirhams last year, supporting the country’s foreign currency reserves along with exports and remittances from expatriates.
Last year, the kingdom adopted a roadmap for the tourism sector to increase the number of tourists to 17.5 million by 2026, surpassing the sector’s revenues of 120 billion dirhams.
It allocated a total amount of around 6.1 billion dirhams to diversify the tourism offering and improve air connectivity, with the country aiming to attract tourists from non-European Union countries.
