Morocco moves closer to creating 80,000 new tourist beds

CASBLANCA (Reuters) - Morocco has finished building a tourism complex that includes nine hotels with 17,000 beds, as part of its plan to create 80,000 new tourist beds by 2010, Tourism Minister Mohamed Boussaid said.

The Mediterrania Saidia resort covers more than 700 hectares around the town of Berkane in Morocco's eastern Oriental region, Boussaid told tourism officials and journalists late on Monday.

It was part of a government plan to build six resorts with a total of 80,000 tourist beds between 2001 and 2010. The government said it was on track to complete the plan on time, but experts and business people have expressed doubts.

Morocco stepped up efforts to develop tourism in 2001, aiming to reach 10 million visitors next year, from eight million at present.

Tourism is Morocco's primary foreign currency earner and main employer after the agriculture and textile industries. In 2008, tourism revenue was 59 billion Moroccan Dirhams, the same as in 2007 but 12 percent more than in 2006.