Marrakesh top of the clicks for lastminute.com

10 Dec 2007

Marrakesh top of the clicks for lastminute.com By Ginny McGrath

Morocco is the fastest growing destination for holidaymakers buying flights through lastminute.com.

During summer 2006 flight bookings to Marrakesh leapt 295 per cent year-on-year, buoyed by the increased number of flights operating between the UK and Morocco.

As reported by Times Online Travel in July, there will be around 99 flights a week between London and Marrakesh from November, up from 39 per week at the start of 2006.

Among the carriers that have already launched flights to Morocco this year are easyJet and Thomsonfly, and from October 31 they will be joined by Ryanair.

The airlines have been engaged in an aggressive fares war because of the record number of flights, with London-Marrakesh fares dropping to as little as £38 return including taxes and charges. Until July this year two airline groups enjoyed a monopoly over flights between the UK and Morocco – British Airways and Royal Air Maroc, with fares averaging more than £200 return.

Marrakesh isn’t the only popular Moroccan destination – Tangier is also on the radar and was lastminute.com’s fifth fastest growing destination this summer, with bookings up 132 per cent year-on-year.

Commenting on the trend, lastminute.com UK travel director, John Bevan said: “We only expect this interest in Morocco to grow further and further; it has so much to offer UK travellers.”

Although Morocco is showing high growth, it’s yet to break the top ten destinations for flights sold. London, Paris and Amsterdam were the top three destinations for flights this summer, followed by New York, Prague and Barcelona.

Booking figures from the lastminute.com French website also puts Morocco high on the list of popular destinations - in the top ten for flights sold this summer Marrakesh is at second and Casablanca at eighth, although French holidaymakers have a history of travel to Morocco owing to its proximity to France and the absence of language barrier.

Source: Times Online (UK)