For a very long time, Egypt has been the most visited country on the African continent. With the only one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence and an iconic civilization that has left its mark on history, it’s an amazing country. But in 2024, Morocco dethroned it in terms of the number of travelers!
The new #1 country in Africa is one that we 2 Flytrippers co-founders have enjoyed visiting during our respective trips. I’ve even been there 3 times already.
Here’s how Morocco became Africa’s most visited country, why you should go, and how you can get there for less.
Why Africa’s most visited country is now Morocco
Morocco has overtaken Egypt for the 1st time. That’s not surprising.
Morocco has a great infrastructure; North Africa in general is more developed than sub-Saharan Africa, as you know if you’ve read our post on the 5 different regions of Africa.
Morocco is one of the most economically and politically stable countries on the continent, and one of the most striking observations we can make after 8 years of helping travelers is how almost everyone irrationally overestimates the risks everywhere and is far too afraid of everything.
Morocco, geographically, is the African country closest to North America and among the closest to Europe, which is where a great number of travelers come from. And people love to go not too far away, unfortunately (almost all of my favorite countries among the 75+ I’ve been to are farther away).
Morocco has invested heavily in its national tourism strategy to attract more travelers and more airlines (I list the 4 Canadian routes below).
Morocco has especially encouraged foreign ultra low-cost carriers (ULCCs) to set up operations, to make more flights available to lower the price of airplane tickets (the travel expense around which savvy travelers base their destination choices). For example, Ryanair offers 175 routes (!!!) to Morocco for as little as $20 one-way.
(A fascinating fact is that Ryanair is the airline that carries the most passengers between Europe and all of Africa… and it serves no other country on the continent except Morocco!!!)
Finally, the country has a ton of cultural and natural attractions, of course (but almost all countries have that, and that obviously doesn’t necessarily always translate into a #1 ranking in a continent).
In short, in 2024, Morocco welcomed over 17 million travelers, as opposed to 16 million for Egypt.
Globally, that’s still very far from the leaders, which is even less surprising. The vast majority of people still sadly seem to just want to visit very expensive and very touristy countries.
But it’s still an upswing for both countries! The increase is 33% for Morocco compared with the pre-pandemic figures from 2019. The year 2024 was also still the best ever for Egypt.
It’s obviously great news that more people are getting off the beaten path a bit more.
Noteworthy fact: Egypt still kept its #1 position for tourism revenue. Yet, the cost of living and travel there is much lower than in Morocco, so that means the country attracts more travelers who spend a lot more!
Why travel to Morocco
Even compared to destinations on other continents, there are plenty of good reasons to travel to Morocco.
By far the best is the one we’ve just mentioned, which is the fact that Morocco is one of the closest spots you can go and get a real culture shock.
Morocco is also affordable. Well, it’s more towards the end of the 34 most affordable countries (a ranking we’ll update soon for 2025), but it’s still very affordable compared to where most people always travel.
(It still fascinates me that so many people find Portugal “affordable”! It’s cheaper than North America and most of Europe, of course, but those are literally the worst places on earth! It’s like saying Mercedes-Benz cars are “affordable” because they’re cheaper than Ferraris!)
In 2025, we really want to share more content about our own trips in general.
In the meantime, we’ve got a few posts that might help you discover Morocco.
You can read about the 12 best destinations in the country.
If you want to learn more about 2 of the most popular destinations, we’ve got dedicated posts:
- Casablanca
- Marrakech
As for our experiences, we’ll be able to tell you more about them in future posts. On my side, I also visited Chefchaouen, Fez, and Tangier, while Flytrippers’ other co-founder, Kevin, also visited Rabat and Dakhla (in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is largely under Moroccan control).
Finally, Morocco is amazing if you have the best hotel points for Canadians — and all Canadians should have some because the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is the only one that’s a must-have for all types of travelers without exception. I give you some concrete examples in the last section.
How to get to Morocco
Here’s an overview of how to get to Morocco for less, both in cash and in points.
If you really want to maximize your chances of saving, it’s excessively simple (as with all flights). You just need to take the time to try out our 31 tips for cheaper airplane tickets one by one.
Direct flights
Flights with connections are, of course, very often cheaper to get to Morocco (as is the case with all long-distance destinations).
But I’ll start by listing the 4 direct routes between Canada and Morocco:
- From Toronto
- From Montreal
With cash and points of the more simple type, these flights are often expensive (as mentioned).
That said, good prices are sometimes available (by looking often and being flexible, as always). Air Transat seems to have them more often than the 2 full-service airlines.
With points of the more lucrative type, these flights can be interesting redemptions with airline points (depending on the price in cash, as always).
Flights on Air Canada rarely give good value with Aeroplan points (compared to flights on partners), but it can happen. Flights on Royal Air Maroc cost a fixed amount of Avios points if you find availability (seats available with points are limited, as always), but there are surcharges, so it doesn’t often give good value either (except in business class). With bank price charts, it’s bad (as is almost always the case).
Flights with a normal connection
Prices are often lower with a normal connection (on the same ticket) than for direct flights.
With cash or points of the more simple type, flights with connections are often affordable on TAP Air Portugal (via Lisbon) if you live in Toronto or Montreal, and on various others elsewhere.
But you never need to remember the airline; just always do a search to compare all the flight and airline options on a comparison tool like Skyscanner.
With points of the more lucrative type, flights with connections are obviously extremely more numerous.
It gives you access to so many more available seats (and also to the partners’ fixed prices in the case of Aeroplan). For example, United has a new route from New York-Newark to Marrakech that costs 35,000 Aeroplan points one-way in economy class or 60,000 points in business class from Montréal or Ottawa (it’s more from anywhere else due to the distance) if you find availability.
Flights with a self-transfer
It’s worth comparing the price with self-transfers (as for all flights). But it’s more effort. That’s why the vast majority of people buy all their flights on the same ticket and pay so much more.
With cash or points of the more simple type, self-transfers make it possible to combine deals to Europe, which are often available in the $282 (CA$400)s and $353 (CA$500)s roundtrip, and flights between Europe and Morocco, which are often affordable.
For example, between Lisbon and Morocco, it’s as little as $24 one-way, and between London and Morocco it’s $25 one-way.
With points of the more lucrative type, self-transfers also give you more options.
You can use them just for the short flight or just for the transatlantic flight, depending on availability and what’s a better deal with cash or with points of the more simple type at your dates.
Where to stay in Morocco
We’ve shared examples of cheap accommodation in 8 countries and will do so for Morocco soon.
In the meantime, it’s worth at least mentioning the good deals with Marriott Bonvoy points:
- Courtyard Casablanca Downtown (Casablanca)
- ≈ 5,800 points per night (≈ 29,000 points for 5 nights)
- ≈ 2,900 per night per person with a companion
- Le Méridien N’Fis (Marrakech)
- ≈ 8,900 per night nuit (≈ 44,500 points for 5 nights)
- ≈ 4,450 per night per person with a companion
- Fes Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace (Fès)
- ≈ 10,800 points per night (≈ 54,000 points for 5 nights)
- ≈ 5,400 per night per person with a companion
In case you didn’t know, you can easily get 53,000 points now:
- With the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
- Or various amounts with 7 other cards
I had a great stay at the one in Fes. They gave me a free suite upgrade thanks to my Titanium elite status. But even without that, the hotel itself was very good.
Finally, there’s also a great option to use your Marriott free night certificates!
You can get $429 in net value at the Rabat Marriott Hotel in the capital (the night can be worth $513, and the certificate costs you $85 (CA$120) to get).
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Summary
Morocco, a country we enjoyed visiting, has dethroned Egypt to become the most visited country in Africa in 2024. Thanks to affordable flights (especially if you follow our tips), its many cultural and natural attractions, a very reasonable cost for travelers, and its proximity, Morocco stands out as one of the best destinations to explore to get a good culture shock.
What would you like to know about Africa’s most visited country? Tell us in the comments below.
See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights
Discover free travel with rewards: Travel rewards
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Featured image: Morocco (photo credit: Louis Hansel)
