CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: Property Investing in Morocco

Morocco, with snow topped mountain peaks, white beaches, undulating hills and old towns bustling with life, has an enduring appeal which has attracted people from all walks of life. Famous names that have fallen for the country include Winston Churchill, Jean Paul Gaultier and the Rolling Stones, among others. The number of British holidaymakers going to Morocco in 2004 increased by 20% showing a widening of Morocco’s appeal. As Europe’s ‘Gateway to Africa’, Morocco enjoys long-established trade links with the UK, and commerce between the two countries has increased three-fold in the last decade alone, making the UK Morocco’s second-biggest investor.

In fact, the tourist industry produces 7% of Morocco’s GDP and employs almost one million people, qualifying it as the second-largest source of income in the country. This looks set to increase rapidly under the government’s Vision 2010 plan, through which infrastructure and resources are being improved. 80,000 hotel rooms are being constructed (creating 600,000 jobs), and visitor figures are set to reach 10 million before Morocco’s acceptance into the Euro-Med free trade zone in 2010. Six new coastal resorts are also under construction, with facilities including 5-star hotels, golf courses, apartments, villas and spas.

The last five years have seen a considerable rise in the number of foreigners buying houses in Morocco, and Moroccan property agents have predicted that British buyers will be the biggest contributor to the market over the next five years. This is partly due to the fact that King Mohammed VI is actively encouraging…