Today, Tuesday, the International Tourism Exhibition China 2025 (ITB China 2025) kicks off in Shanghai, marking the largest event in the travel sector in China that brings together tourism professionals from around the world.
This prominent event in the Asian travel industry, running until Thursday at the Shanghai World Expo and Conference Center, serves as an essential platform for networking among professionals and business opportunities within the travel industry.
According to the organizers, the International Tourism Exhibition in China features over 600 exhibitors representing 80 countries, and is expected to welcome 15,000 industry visitors, in addition to more than 1,000 buyers from 790 different companies.
The Moroccan National Tourist Office is strongly represented at this year’s exhibition, with a large delegation consisting of industry professionals and a quality program paving the way for promising cooperation prospects.
The Moroccan National Tourist Office is also supporting the participation of fifteen Moroccan exhibitors at the event, highlighting the potential of the Moroccan destination among Chinese professionals and developing strategic partnerships.
A Moroccan pavilion will be showcased on this occasion, which will particularly attract attention as it is included in the official tour organized by ITB China, with the presence of distinguished members of the organizing committee, major tourism groups, and high-ranking Chinese officials.
Thus, the International Tourism Exhibition in China stands out as a strategic lever for Morocco in its efforts to explore the Chinese tourism market.
After recording a record number of 142,000 Chinese visitors to Morocco in 2019, this momentum declined during the pandemic, before rebounding with 107,000 Chinese visitors in 2024, representing a 75% recovery compared to pre-pandemic levels.
This promising recovery is largely attributed to the proactive efforts of the Moroccan National Tourist Office, which has adopted an ambitious action plan for the Chinese market, particularly through strategic partnerships, digital and traditional promotional campaigns, media meetings, and familiarization trips and promotional tours.
This strategy also relies on the reactivation of the direct flight from Casablanca to Beijing last January by Royal Air Maroc, and the launch of the Shanghai-Casablanca route by China Eastern Airlines.
According to the China Tourism Academy and the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the number of outbound travelers from China has risen from 87 million in 2023 to around 130 million in 2024, and is expected to reach 155 million travelers in 2025, with a target of reaching 200 million by 2028.
China, representing one in every ten tourists globally with 150 million travelers annually, is considered the largest tourism market in the world in terms of size and revenue.
