• Egypt-UAE consortium to invest €200 million in Essaouira project

• First phase includes 800 rooms, leisure village, golf courses

• Project supports Morocco tourism goals targeting 26 million visitors by 2030

A consortium of Egyptian and Emirati investors plans to invest €200 million (about $235 million) in an integrated tourism project in Morocco. The group includes UAE-based Al Nowais Investments, Egypt’s Sunrise Group and Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris.

The investment will fund the first phase of the project, which is expected to cover 2.5 million square meters in Essaouira, a city on Morocco’s Atlantic coast.

The first phase will include 800 hotel rooms, with 270 scheduled for completion by end-2027, according to two sources cited by Asharq Business. It will also feature a leisure village with retail space, golf courses and 30 boutique hotels spread across 300,000 square meters.

The second phase, whose details have not been disclosed, is expected to begin five years after construction starts on the first phase.

The project aims to boost tourism in the Essaouira region, where the hospitality sector is currently centered on a mix of riads, traditional Moroccan residences, hotels and guesthouses. It is part of Morocco’s tourism development roadmap, which targets 26 million visitors by 2030, when the country will co-host the FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

Tourism accounts for about 7% of Morocco’s gross domestic product and supports nearly 900,000 direct jobs. The country is already Africa’s top tourist destination by visitor numbers, reaching a record 19.8 million tourists in 2025, up 14% from 2024.

Walid Kéfi