From Casablanca To The Sahara And Back: A Moroccan Road Trip

Casablanca

One of the pavilions holds the grave of Sultan Ahmed El-Mansour who ruled at the end of the 16th century. His palace is definitely worth a visit. It is now a fairly bare ruin but in its time it included walls and ceilings encrusted with gold brought all the way from Timbuktu. It took over 20 years to put together the pools, gardens, and pavilions, and was finished just before the Sultan died.

Marrakech Tours are designed to show you the essence of the city and you can take your pick of the things you wish to see. In museums such as Dar Si Said there are many exhibits of crafts and woodwork, kitchen implements, musical instruments, and weapons.

Leather

Leather is definitely one of the things for which the city is famous. If you go to the tannery area you must be prepared for real pungent smells from the series of containers holding foul-smelling liquids; little has changed since medieval days in terms of the process with bird droppings still being an essential part of the tanning process. It’s an experience but whether you want to hang around long enough to shop is another question. Elsewhere there are plenty of shops selling excellent leather goods and not a hint of the smell that you experienced earlier.

Shopping

The Souks of Marrakech will certainly lighten your wallet because there is far more than leather on offer. There are plenty of textiles and Moroccan carpets are world-renowned. You will have the chance to taste the spices of the country whenever you sit down in a restaurant and if you want to know more they will all be available for sale when your guide shows you the markets. There are indeed many handicrafts that you may like to buy so it is worth traveling light which you can do during the warm months to leave space in your case.

With some of the most negative effects of the recent worldwide global recession beginning to wane, consumers and businesses are beginning to spend money on travel more freely than in the past several years. For tourists, there is probably a large amount of pent-up demand to visit new places and see things that they had been putting off for several years. For businesses, it’s an opportunity to create more long-term business relationships with companies, including both clients and vendors, from other countries. South Africa is especially appealing to both groups of consumers, which is why a recent report about the state of the hospitality industry in South Africa did not disappoint with its findings.

A report recently released by the international accounting firm of Price Waterhouse Coopers indicates that tourism and hospitality in South Africa are on the move again. While the numbers are encouraging and are trending upward, the firm cautioned operators to postpone additional developments, unless they were absolutely necessary. Their advice is based on the fact that the available supply across South Africa is still not matched by the necessary demand. Until that equation balances out, any new developments are likely to upset the delicate balance that has been achieved. Across the board, the numbers are encouraging. Perhaps it was due to the successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup which put South Africa on center stage and spurred people from all over the world to come and visit as soon as their economic conditions allowed. The report indicated that the average hotel occupancy, which stood at approximately 57% in 2012, was expected to jump all the way to almost 69% within five years.

A Magnet for Foreign Visitors

While a majority of visitors to South Africa (over 72%) come from other countries on the African continent, the interesting point that the report made is that there has been a noticeable jump in visitors from both United States and Europe. Many parts of Europe are still reeling from the economic crisis which plunged the entire eurozone into severe distress when the global recession hit. Nonetheless, there was an almost 10% increase in visitors to South Africa from Europe in 2012 and the trend can be expected to continue. During the same time, visitors from the United States increased by almost 14%, and given the fact that their economy is beginning to stretch its legs again, the number of visitors from North America, in general, can be expected to increase dramatically in the next several years.

Hotels Remain Front and Centre

The report concluded that the hotel business will remain strong and viable in South Africa for the years to come. They noted that quality operators such as TsogoSun.com can be expected to reap benefits from having high-quality accommodations and excellent management. The report calculated that there should be over 63,000 rooms available in South Africa by 2017, generating almost R 17 billion, a compounded yearly increase of almost 10%. This shows the staying power of the hospitality business in South Africa which will likely continue unabated, especially in light of the tragic loss of Nelson Mandela, which will attract even more visitors to the country. (*)

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