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ohannesburg (AND) Morocco is the fastest growing destination for holidaymakers who buy flights through lastminute.com, Times Online said.
Magreb Arabe Presse has reported that during summer 2006 flight bookings to Marrakesh leapt 295% year-on-year, maintained by the increased number of flights operating between UK and Morocco.
According to Times Online, a UK based online newspaper, airlines have been engaged in an aggressive fares war because of the record number of flights, with London-Marrakesh fares dropping as little as 38 euros ($48) 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 euros ($252) return.
The other popular Moroccan destination is Tangier, which is the fifth fastest growing destination with bookings of up to 132% year-on-year.
Booking figures from the lastminute.com, a French website, also puts Morocco high on the list of popular destinations - in the top ten for flights sold this summer Marrakech is at second and Casablanca at eighth.
French holidaymakers have a history of travel to Morocco owing to its proximity to France and the absence of language barrier, notes Times Online.
Johannesburg Bureau, AND
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Early investors in Morocco’s property market are seeing the value of their homes continue to rise steadily, reports Paul Staines, a partner of Newbury-based Saffron Villas, the UK’s leading Moroccan property specialist.
Popular with UK buyers are the villas and apartments in the new resorts taking shape on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast - a short hop from Spain - as well as others down the Atlantic coast from Tangier to Casablanca and beyond.
First-time buyers - some of them unable to afford a property in the UK - are among those feeling the benefit of getting in early, with the value of their investments growing before their eyes, says Paul.
“Typically, a buyer who paid £40,000 for a two-bedroom apartment near Tangier six months ago, now owns a property worth around £65,000 and its value will keep rising,” he says.
Prices in Morocco are substantially lower than those for comparable properties in Southern Spain, despite the fact that they both overlook the Mediterranean, say Jim and Antoinette Orr of Hainault, Essex, who have bought two properties in the golf and marina resort Mediterrania-Saidia.
The couple, who paid £198,000 for a 253 sq metre four-bedroom villa and £72,000 for a two-bedroom penthouse apartment, expect to be in a position to sell their apartment and use the profit to pay off the mortgage on the villa within four or five years.
“In the eight months since we bought the apartment off-plan, its value has already increased by more than £20,000,” reports Jim whose example is being followed by growing numbers of buyers anxious to secure a property before prices rise out of their reach.
“Enquiry levels have been boosted by the new availability of low-cost direct flights to Morocco from firms like easyJet and Ryanair,” says Paul. “That is why the traditional slowdown in activity during the summer months has been much less than we expected.”
In contrast to the resorts taking shape on the coast, new developments in the Marrakech area are attracting buyers at the top end of the market, seeking exclusivity on smaller luxury developments.
While British buyers remain in the vanguard of overseas investors, they have been joined by others from European counties like Spain, Germany, Belgium, Norway and Sweden, as well as purchasers from further afield. Recently Saffron Villas has started selling Moroccan properties to buyers from the USA, Hawaii, Singapore, Dubai and Bahrain.
For information about buying in Morocco, call Saffron Villas which offers a wide range of property types and prices across the country. Visit saffronvillas.com.
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Al Qudra plans to invest in Morocco's infrastructure
Staff Report
Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi-based Al Qudra Holding yesterday announced it is investing in Morocco's infrastructure sector following plans to open an office shortly.
"Establishing an office in Morocco marks Al Qudra Holding's first step in expanding regionally." said Salah Salem Bin Omeir Al Shamsi, chairman and managing director of Al Qudra Holding. "Operations at our Moroccan offices should commence by October of this year. We will start with the city's infrastructure and transportation development."
A high-level delegation from Al Qudra Holding, led by Al Shamsi and Khalifa Khouri, visited the President of the Region of Rabat, Hassan Armani, to discuss strategic investments in Morocco's capital city.
Electric tram
Also present was Al Qudra Holding's Morocco-based representative, Taha Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, regional director, and Hadi Tahboub, general manager of Q-Link.
Al Qudra Holding plans to invest in Rabat's public transport infrastructure that aims in developing the concept of an electrically driven tram-way in Rabat city.
"The President welcomed Al Qudra Holding's initiatives to develop water taxis and a water bus concept to ease traffic congestion. Heavy traffic is causing a problem in areas which are witnessing a number of important property development projects," said Al Shamsi.
Al Qudra Real Estate, a subsidiary of Al Qudra Holding, is also involved in real estate projects in Morocco.