The Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT) and Italian shipping company GNV have signed a three-year agreement aimed at implementing a joint action plan to develop tourist flows between Italy and Morocco. The agreement was signed in Rabat on the sidelines of the company’s annual conference, held in Marrakech from October 2 to 5.
According to a statement from the Moroccan National Tourism Office, the initiative comes as Italy consolidates its position as a strategic market for Morocco. In 2025, the Kingdom welcomed around 1.15 million Italian tourists, 15% of whom arrived by sea.
The partnership aims to increase the number of travelers coming from Italy to 350,000 by intensifying promotion of Morocco’s tourism offering and developing maritime connections to the Kingdom’s ports.
As part of the partnership, a wide-ranging communication campaign will be launched in the Italian market, covering radio, television and digital content creators. The agreement also provides for strengthening the presence of the Morocco destination within GNV’s network of travel agencies and organizing on-the-ground marketing events in public spaces.
The Moroccan destination will also have a strong presence aboard the company’s ships through digital screens, the GNV APP Maroc and the fleet’s radio broadcasts.
The cooperation is in line with the Moroccan National Tourism Office’s marketing strategy, which places on-the-ground experiences and a variety of activities at the heart of promoting the Kingdom, while showcasing the diversity of its regions and the different ways of exploring them. The initiative specifically targets Italian tourists interested in road trips by car, four-wheel-drive adventures and sustainable ecotourism.
The maritime route also offers significant flexibility for travelers by providing direct access to Morocco with their personal vehicles. This makes it easier to explore different regions of the Kingdom and gives visitors complete freedom to design their own itineraries and diversify their experiences throughout their stay.
Alongside its tourism component, the partnership responds to growing demand linked to Operation Marhaba, which is aimed at Moroccans living abroad, given the significant presence of Moroccans in Italy. Increasing maritime passenger flows represents a dual objective linked to mobility and tourism activity, while contributing to closer ties between the two shores of the Mediterranean.
The agreement is a natural extension of joint initiatives launched alongside the entry into service of the new GNV Aurora. The vessel was launched on June 1 and assigned to routes serving Morocco, with the current agreement providing a practical framework for expanding this three-dimensional cooperation.
GNV, part of the global MSC Group, holds a leading position in passenger and vehicle maritime transport across the Mediterranean. Through its maritime routes, the company connects several destinations from Italian ports to Morocco, relying on an extensive distribution network and strong professional partnerships.
Through this alliance, the two sides are strengthening their cooperation to establish sustainable growth in passenger traffic to the Kingdom, combining the Moroccan National Tourism Office’s promotional strength with GNV’s maritime and digital capabilities.
The coordination aims to expand mechanisms for attracting Italian tourists and establish Morocco as a leading choice for their leisure travel, in line with the growing importance of the Italian market, while making maritime transport a genuine driver of tourism development and a bridge for exchanges across the Mediterranean.
