RABAT, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A total of 11.3 million tourists visited Morocco between January and November, up 8.5 percent from the same period last year, the Moroccan Tourism Ministry said on Thursday.
According to the Moroccan ministry's statistics, the number of foreign tourists hiked by 15 percent, while the arrivals of Moroccans living abroad rose by two percent.
During the first eleven months of 2018, the growth was mainly driven by the continuous increase of visits from traditional European markets.
The statistics showed an increases of 15 percent in Italian tourist arrivals, 10 percent in German tourists, eight percent in French visitors, and six percent in Spanish tourists.
Morocco's top tourist destinations of Marrakech and Agadir generated alone 60 percent of total overnight stays, the same source noted.
The North African country is on its way to set a new record in tourist arrivals after it attracted a record of 11.35 million tourists in 2017.
However, statistics of tourist arrivals for December, which are expected to come at the beginning of next month, will be watched closely.
On Dec. 17, the kingdom saw a tragic murder of two women tourists, a Danish and a Norwegian near the tourist village of Imlil, 60 kilometers away from Marrakech.
The authorities are treating the act as a terrorist attack and have brought into justice 22 suspects.
