Morocco’s tourist accommodation sector finds itself on the cusp of significant change. After a considerable wait, the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts, and the Social and Solidarity Economy has released five pivotal decrees related to Law 80-14 from 2015, publishing them in the Official Bulletin. These regulations indicate a substantial effort to both professionalize and modernize the country’s tourism experiences.
A significant aspect of this reform involves implementing a standardized star rating system that will apply across various accommodation types. This includes hotels, guesthouses, tourist residences, riads and even kasbahs. Designed to align with globally recognized standards, the system is meant to assist travelers in decision-making and promote equitable competition within the industry. Service quality is now centrally important, evaluated through so-called “mystery visits” by auditors who will employ up to 800 different criteria to judge the overall customer experience. New classifications will need renewing every seven years initially, and then every five years, to maintain standards of excellence.
To further stimulate investment, especially at the luxury end, the ministry is introducing what are termed Back-to-back Real Estate Residences (RIA) for luxury and 5-star establishments. This allows private villas to be sold whilst their management remains with the hotel operators. This caters to an increasing demand for higher-end experiences and thereby increases the sector’s attractiveness. Professionals in the tourist accommodation sector now have twenty-four months to comply with these new standards, a period intended to allow time for both infrastructural upgrades and staff training, alongside preparations for the forthcoming evaluations.
Moreover, the ministry is looking at regulating accommodations that have often been undersupervised – this includes bivouacs, homestays and other more alternative options such as cabins and containers, as well as listings on digital platforms. The overall aim here is to ensure safety, quality and better accessibility while also integrating these less formal providers within the broader regulatory structure.
According to Minister Fatim-Zahra Ammor, this represents a critical move for tourism in Morocco. She also emphasized the broad consultations that have taken place with professionals within the sector. The ultimate goal goes beyond simple regulatory compliance: it is about establishing Morocco as a highly attractive, but also reliably safe, destination on a global scale.