Casablanca Reunion March 2008

Casablanca, Morocco, a feast for the senses…and also home to a large number of Les Roches Graduates.

Amine Moumni (SHA XI) welcomed the reunion in the Hotel Barceló of Casablanca, where he is currently the Assistant Manager. After having travelled from USA to China, to Marrackech, Amine has decided to give his home town a try and it seems to be going well for him.

(http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/es-ES/Hotels/Morocco/Casablanca/Casablanca/Home.htm?ls=1)

In an amazing setting complemented by a variety of canapes including moroccan delicacies, just a few of the Moroccan chapter alumni where able to get together in the company of myself and Ana García, who joined us after a Les Roches Presentation for new students.

Amongst us we had the pleasure of having Ghislaine Lahrabli (SHA II) one of our first graduates. She is currently the Les Roches representative for Morocco as well as being a Black Belt, Six Sigma Manager for Starwood Hotels and Resorts.  (http://www.isixsigma.com/sixsigma/six_sigma.asp)

One of Starwoods Hotels in Casablanca is the Sheraton, where Idriss Seffar (SHA XIII) is the F&B Cost Controler.

Othmane Solhi (First Promotion of BBA Les Roches Marbella) whois currently the Director of LA SQUALA, a very trendy moroccan restaurant set in one Casablancas old forts, is also succesfully leading his career in his hometown.

(www.sqala.ma)

The last ones to arrive where Hamza Meki and Khalid Mtiri (both SHA XIV). Hamza opened up his own little restaurant in Casablanca called “Au petit Maroc” after his restaurant in Puerto Banús.  Khalid is working in the recently inaugurated Novotel of Casablanca and is recently married as well, congratulations!

We all got together in a wonderfull Casablanca night where we got to talk about the current employment situation in Morocco.

Everybody agreed that Morocco is growing in a large scale, Hospitality wise. Many of the international hotel companies have various projects that are already on their way and Morocco seems to be a promising destination in a couple of years time.

It is good to know that Les Roches has succesful representatives in a country that has lot of career opportunities for the near future.

MOROCCO  - MARKET GROWTH

"...Morocco is already making a name for itself as a new property investment hotspot. Morocco´s luxurious property developments are generally accepted to be of the highest standards available and very competitive prices allow Morocco to boast top quality property in 5 star luxury resorts for a fraction of the price of far less caliber property elsewhere.

Morocco has attracted a great deal of media coverage with a large number of the world’s wealthy, including film stars and sports heroes, having already purchased property here; Richard Branson, Mick Jagger, Malcom Forbes, and even David Beckham have all purchased property in Morocco. Widely tipped to become the next elite holiday destination, Morocco propertyoffers to the rest of us similar style to Puerto Banus, Monaco or St. Tropez at significantly lower prices.

When construction of the many new facilities, luxurious living accommodation, as well as new roads, marinas and ports is completed, it is expected property prices will soar. The resorts are set to attract vast numbers of tourists on short-term holidays, generating excellent rental yields for investors of buy-to-let properties.

Vision 2010

The major catalyst behind the huge growth in Morocoo´s tourist industry and the enormous overseas investment into the construction of stunning new luxury property developments is the massive national development plan, Vision 2010, devised by King Mohammed VI in conjunction with the UAE. This project was launched with the purpose of drastically increasing the number of annual tourist visitors to a specific goal of 10 million by the year 2010, This will further boost the Moroccan economy through the creation of some 600,000 new jobs.

Directives of Vision 2010:

·    The construction of 6 new coastal resorts (5 on the Atlantic Coast and 1 on the Mediterranean Coast)

·    New motorways to be built and upgraded

·    New regional airports to be built and where possible upgraded

·    Increase and de-regulate incoming flights from all over Europe by introducing an “Open Skies” policy

·    New ports, marinas and high speed trains to be created and implemented

·    To serve the increase in tourist visitors, the government plans new shopping malls, golf courses, beach clubs, equestrian centres, spas which are all designed to promote a 5 star luxury lifestyle.

”Open Skies” Policy

One of the most significant moves to increase tourism is the decision to operate the “Open Skies policy” which makes Morocco far easier for airlines to offer services into Morocco. The promotion of competition among airlines will, in turn, bring down the cost of air travel to Morocco and make travelling to Morocco an easier option for potential tourists worldwide.

Morocco Economy

Morocco can be described as a stable economy enjoying steady growth. The Jettou government continues to encourage reform, liberalization, and modernization to stimulate growth and employment.

The Dirham, Morocco´s unit of currency, has experienced growth of 18% since 1990. The economy is expected to be boosted further if, as is expected, Morocco becomes part of the Euro-Med free trade zone. As an important element of the national development plan of Vision 2010, the chief economic objective is to establish a close relationship with the European Union.

With the aid of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an economic reform programme, Morocco has managed to restrict government spending. Today, employment remains mainly within the volatile agricultural sector, but over the long term Morocco will have to move its economy away from agriculture and develop a more stable economic basis for its growth. One area is in the growing tourism market, where significant amounts of employment are being created in the construction and service sectors which will later be transferred to the tourism sector.

Morocco has held inflation rates to industrial country averages over the past decade due to a foreign exchange rate anchor and well-managed monetary policy. Inflation in 2005 was at 2.5%. The country maintains a current account surplus and foreign exchange reserves are strong, amounting to around $15 billion.

In 2005 the Moroccan Government secured a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA. The U.S.- Morocco FTA is the second in the Arab world and the first to be made in Africa. It immediately eliminated tariffs on 95% of US trade in consumer and industrial products. Further FTA reforms and liberalization are currently underway..."

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