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Africa


Coast clear for new arrivals


Agadir is a key player in the Moroccan tourist board’s strategy to increase annual visitors to 18 million by 2020. Sarah Gilbert looks at what’s new in the coastal resort


O


nce a traditional Moroccan town, Agadir was


completely rebuilt after a devastating earthquake


in 1960. It became one of the country’s first holiday resorts thanks to its palm-lined avenues, endless beaches and year-round sunshine. Agadir boasts the largest souk in Morocco, an ancient hilltop kasbah, five golf courses and, at the end of the bay, an expanding Andalusian- style marina complete with upscale shops, seafood restaurants and cafes. Family-friendly CrocoPark – home to 300 enormous Nile crocodiles – opened its doors in 2015, while xTreme Park, with rides and activities for all ages, opened in December 2017.


Welcoming visitors A number of flight routes have opened up from key source markets including Germany and France. In 2017, Air France launched thrice- weekly direct flights from Paris; Wizz Air began twice-weekly flights from Budapest and weekly flights from Katowice, Vilnius and Wroclaw, while Air Arabia Maroc launched seven, twice-weekly routes from Manchester, Berlin, Cologne, Toulouse, Dublin, Stockholm and Copenhagen, with twice-weekly flights from Birmingham, which began on October 28, 2018. Taghazout Bay is undoubtedly the focus of the region. Nearly 30 miles north of Agadir’s airport, it has good road links to other popular tourist cities such as Marrakech (143 miles) and Essaouira (99 miles).


The large, mixed-use development is part of the Moroccan National Tourism Strategy, Vision 2020, which aims to increase the number of tourists visiting the country to 18 million by 2020. It’s helmed by Societe d’Amenagement et de Promotion de la Station de


58 06.11.2018


For business meetings and events there’s a flexible, high-tech space that can cater to up to 80 attendees. There’s also a hotel shuttle to and from Agadir city centre.


Agadir marina


Taghazout (SAPST), who have developed a master plan for the area, with a target of nine luxury hotels totalling about 7,450 beds, along with residential projects and a traditional-style Moroccan medina with shops, restaurants, cafes and entertainment venues. Sustainability is at its core, including environmental protection, conservation of natural resources and local employment opportunities. Sport is key to the project, with an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Kyle Phillips that opened in 2014, tennis and football academies and a surf camp (in recent years, the pretty fishing village of Taghazout has morphed into Morocco’s surf and yoga mecca), along with a range of other watersports including kite-surfing and wind-surfing plus there is mountain biking and hiking.


Accommodation options The 152-room Hyatt Place Taghazout Bay opened in May 2015, the first Hyatt Place hotel to open in Africa, with 152 guestrooms and suites, all with balconies and impressive Atlantic views. There are two outdoor swimming


pools and a 24-hour gym, yoga room and spa with a traditional hammam.


Hyatt Place Taghazout Bay


Melia Hotels International launched its first property in Morocco in Taghazout in May 2016 under its lifestyle brand, Sol House, aimed at young, affluent millenials. Colourful, contemporary guest-rooms include three-bed House Rooms (perfect for groups of friends) and House Master Cabanas, large bungalows with two double bedrooms.


The Fairmont Taghazout Bay is scheduled to open in 2019, found on 180,000 square metres of beachfront adjacent to the golf course. There’ll be 155 ocean-facing guest-rooms, in addition to 52 Fairmont-branded villas to be released for sale later this year as the first luxury waterfront villas of their kind in the country. Hotel giant Marriott is also at the construction stages of the Marriott Hotel Taghazout Bay. It’ll be a 250- key beachfront property, including a spa and gym, all-day dining and meeting and conference facilities. Hilton has announced the development of its 170-room hotel in Taghazout Bay with an estimated investment of $33 million, which has been slated to open in late 2018.


MICHELE REEVES Director, Plan-it Morocco


WHY ARE YOU EXPANDING YOUR MICE OPERATIONS? We believe that businesses should be increasingly looking to Morocco for team-building events, conferences and incentive travel. With increased airlift, it’s within easy reach of many major European hubs in less than four hours.


WHAT DOES MOROCCO OFFER THE MICE SECTOR? With its mix of stunning landscapes, traditional hospitality, improved infrastructure and luxury accommodation options, we are able to put together exciting, budget- friendly programmes.


WHY CHOOSE AGADIR? The COP22 conference in 2016 demonstrated how expertly Marrakech dealt with such a major global event, and Agadir has a growing number of venues equipped with state-of-the-art conference facilities.


■ The Moroccan National Tourist Offi ce is exhibiting on stand AF400


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