The inaugural flight of the Montreal-Marrakech route, operated by Canadian airline Air Transat, arrived on the tarmac at Marrakech-Menara airport this morning, Thursday June 13. This first connection to Marrakech from North America was made possible thanks to the efforts of the ONMT to multiply point-to-point air links from the continent.

The first flight from Montreal to Marrakech landed at Marrakech airport this morning, Thursday, June 13. The first flight was attended by Sebastian Ponce, Air Transat's Chief Revenue Officer, and Joseph Adamo, Transat's Director of Sales and Marketing, as well as Isabelle Valois, Canada's Ambassador to Morocco.

For the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT), this new route is a further step in its aggressive "Light In Action" strategy to conquer the North American market, with Canada establishing itself as a leading outbound market.

Over the past 10 years, seat capacity from Canada to Morocco has risen by 87%, from 87,000 to 164,000 seats a year. This shows the development potential of this market, and the ONMT is well aware of this. On October 25, 2023, the ONMT and Air Transat signed a strategic partnership agreement, the first operational step of which is the opening of this Montreal-Marrakech route.

The second North American airline, after Air Canada, to operate to Morocco, Air Transat becomes the only airline in North America to offer direct flights to Marrakech, twice a week in summer and once a week in winter.

Air Transat is all the more attractive for Morocco as it is Canada's leading vacation carrier. It was voted the world's best leisure airline in 2023 by Skytrax.

According to forecasts, this new route will not only boost tourism in Marrakech, but will also open up a wide range of possibilities for travellers, with access to the seaside resorts of Essaouira, Taghazout and Agadir, as well as to mountain and eco-tourism destinations (Azilal, Béni Mellal...), the South (Ouarzazate, Zagora and Merzouga) and even city break and cultural destinations in the North (Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes and Fez).

In conjunction with the inaugural flight, the ONMT is organizing a Fam trip for the Transat group's top management from June 13 to 16. Meetings with officials from the Confédération Nationale du Tourisme and the Conseil Régional du Tourisme de Marrakech-Safi are planned to strengthen relations with operators and pave the way for a fruitful collaboration for the Moroccan tourism sector.

Nisrine Zaoui