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| Morocco Information |
| Capital
of Morocco: Rabat
Surface area of Morocco: 720,000
km2
Moroccan Population: 32,805,000
inhabitants
Languages Spoken in Morocco: Arabic
Berber, French, Spanish
GDP/per capita (dollars): 4.200
US $
Religion: Islam (98.7 % Muslims)
The Kingdom
of Morocco is at the farthest
west point of the Arab world and North
Africa just under the Strait of Gibraltar.
Morocco is strategically located with
both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines,
and a rugged mountainous interior.
Morocco was a French protectorate from
1912 to 1956, when Sultan Mohammed became
king. He was succeeded in 1961 by his
son, Hassan II and then in 1999 he was
succeeded by his son King Mohammed VI.
Morocco's capital city is Rabat. Other
major cities in Morocco are Marrakesh
and Fes as well as the ports of Casablanca
and Tangier.
Increasing Interest in Morocco
According to Times online (a UK
based online newspaper),
Morocco is the fastest growing destination for holidaymakers who buy flights through
lastminute.com. Airlines have been engaged
in an aggressive fares war because of the record number of flights,
with London-Marrakesh fares dropping as
little as £27 (€38 or
$48) return including taxes and
charges.
Magreb Arabe Presse has reported that during
summer 2006 flight bookings to Marrakesh
leapt 295% year-on-year,
maintained by the increased number of flights
operating between UK and Morocco.
The other popular Moroccan destination is
Tangier, which is the fifth fastest growing
destination with bookings of up to 132% year-on-year.
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PEOPLE
The people of Morocco have a rich diversity
and unique cultural blended from Arab,
Berber, European and African influences.
Moroccans are
some of the most generous hospitable
people in the world. It's not uncommon
to get invited to dinner upon meeting
and chatting with a Moroccan for only
ten minutes and if you are honored with
such an opportunity you will be treated
to an experience you will never forget.
Typical Moroccan
meals for guests are two to three courses
that extend over several hours of lively
conversation. Mint Tea is an integral
part of Moroccan hospitality and daily
life that you are almost sure to experience.
The official
languagein Morocco is Arabic and various
Berber dialects are spoken.
French is widely
spoken in business, government and academic
circles and Spanish is also spoken in
the north.
English is also
widely used in hotels, restaurants and
cafes where there are a larger number
of tourists.
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ECONOMY
Morocco has a free market economy that
has grown by an average of 4% a year since 1983.
The government has adopted a proactive privatization
creating opportunities in the telecommunication,
utilities and automotive sectors.
There is a free trade zone at the port and airport
of Tangier and merchandise entering these zones
is exempt from customs, fiscal and exchange control
There is also a small
but active stock exchange in Casablanca. (http://www.casablanca-bourse.com/)
Morocco’s exports include fish, citrus fruits,
energy, finished products, phosphates phosphoric
acid and raw materials. Other key areas of the
economy are tourism, agriculture, fishing and
forestry
LOCAL CURRENCY
The unit of currency in Morocco is
the Dirham (DH), which is divided into 100 centimes.
Business visitors are advised to consult their
banks for the current rate of exchange. No import
of dirhams is allowed. Overseas visitors need
to change their currency into dirhams locally.
The Moroccan Central
Bank (Bank Al Maghrib) fixes the value of the
Dirham using a basket of currencies including
the Euro, Dollar and Yen. The Dirham is not
yet fully convertible.
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