Morocco sells Tangier!

No, don't be alarmed. We mean not "sell" as in dispose of, but "sell" as in to promote the benefits of! You have to give it to the Moroccans, they are certainly on the ball when it comes to the promotion side of the equation. With the new Tangier port being seen as gateway not only to to Morocco but all of North Africa, the operators of the port are keen to promote the benefits of doing business in Tangier.

Often when we think about the sea links to Morocco we forget about Gibraltar. Not the Moroccans. Yesterday the new port operators took up the invitation of Gibraltar Tourism Minister Joe Holliday which was given last year when he visited Morocco.

Joe Holliday ( the tall guy) at TangierMed last year
The operator of the new Tangier port made a presentation yesterday to interested parties about the benefits and opportunities in the new port

A presentation and press conference took place yesterday as part of events organised by the TangerMed port authority in conjunction with InvestGibraltar of the department of trade and industry.

The new TangerMed port says it will be one of the largest in the Mediterranean in respect of container services. The meeting was also informed that it will have RoRo and passenger facilities and other services. There are special customs and fiscal regimes, and abundant workforce with wages starting at $0.8 per hour for unskilled workers.

And now - The Italians.

Italian travel group Alpitour and the Moroccan government are set to sign a three-year partnership agreement with the aim of doubling by 2010 the number of Italian tourists to Morocco, which now stand at some 19,000.

The document will be signed on February 9 at Hotel Mansour Eddahbi in Marrakech in the presence of Daniel John Winteler, president of Alpitour's global unit Alpitour World, and Morocco's Tourism Minister Adil Douiri.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news