Magical Morocco conjures allure

A corner of Chefchaouen, a northern city of Morocco. [Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

Morocco will host large-scale promotional events in Beijing and Shanghai next year to generate awareness about lesser-known sites like Fez and the country in general.

Such major Chinese travel agencies as Beijing-based China International Travel Service, Beijing Utour International Travel Service Co and China Youth Travel Service now offer packages to Morocco.

"Bookings have been brisk," China International Travel Service's president Yu Ningning says.

She says more than 1,200 Chinese have signed up since the tours were launched on Aug 4. The 10-day trips are currently sold out, she says.

Popular routes include stops in other countries, since there are no direct flights between China and Morocco.

A nine-day trip that combines Dubai and Morocco, and a 16-day journey through Spain, Portugal and Morocco have been developed by Yu's company, with Morocco as the main attraction.

"It's a long journey, so we throw in destinations that are more familiar to Chinese to make the package more fun and appealing," she explains.

Chinese usually stop in Istanbul or Paris before transferring to Casablanca. The flight takes over 20 hours, including transfer times, each way.

Chartered flights will likely run in the future, officials say.