MOROCCO – Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has officially launched its Brussels-Essaouira flight. The airlines’ inaugural flight arrived at the international airport of Essaouira with 188 passengers on board in late October this year.

The new route aims to strengthen air connectivity to the windy city, Essaouira, and will be serviced by the airline twice a week: Tuesdays and Saturday.

During the launch of the inaugural flight, President of Essaouira’s Provincial Council for Tourism Redwane Khanne told Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) that the flight will increase the “flow of tourists to Essaouira in terms of overnight stays and arrivals.”

Commonly known as Mogador, Essaouira is one of the popular cities in Morocco for both local and international tourists, especially to surfer.

The city which home to the medina of Essaouira that is a UNESCO world heritage site is also popular among the Jews who consider it as a heritage site and gather annually to celebrate the Hiloula of Rabbi Haim Pinto.

Khanne noted that last year during the new year that all of Essaouira’s hotels were full adding that “The city of Essaouira is well known orryanair for its calmness, security and simplicity and friendliness of its natives,”

Other airlines that serve the coastal city that attracts thousands of tourists during its summer International Gnaoua festival, include EasyJet, Transavia France, and Royal Air Maroc.

As Essaouira gets an new airline to service it, Agadir, another tourist is also set to receive more tourists from the planned launch of a new route by Turkish airline Corendon.

Corendon  plans to connect Morocco’s Agadir and Leipzig, Germany with a direct flight as part of its 2019/2020 winter program.

The company revealed that it will use a Boeing 737-800 to serve the flight once a week on Saturdays as of November this year.

The budget airline added that it will also launch a connecting flight between the Egyptian city of Sharm el Sheikh and the German city.

Agadir is one of the most popular Moroccan cities for both locals and foreign tourists and according to the Regional Council of Tourism in Agadir, Moroccans spent 324,729 nights on holiday at hotels or other accommodation, an increase of 10.27% compared to the same period last year.

The regional tourism office said that French tourists came second, with 124,499 nights against 123,926 during the same period last year.

Arrivals of French tourists saw an increase of 0.46% while British tourists came third with 74.499 nights and an increase of 7.6% compared to last year.