August 5, 2026 — 1:21pmSpain may still be celebrating their FIFA World Cup 2026 win, but Morocco has already taken the ball and run with it.The country is investing heavily ahead of co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, expanding airports, extending high-speed rail and upgrading roads, stadiums and tourism infrastructure.Villa Maroc is located within the UNESCO-listed medina of Essaouira, on the Atlantic coast.It is using the moment to strengthen the country’s position as a major international tourism destination. Recent growth means that Morocco now surpasses Egypt as the most visited country in Africa. And the optimism is buoyed by the end of a prolonged drought.For seven years, Morocco endured a severe drought that left reservoirs depleted, hillsides brown and farms under unrelenting pressure. Yet tourism continued to surge.The country welcomed a record 19.8 million visitors in 2025, up 14 per cent on the previous year, helped by expanded air links, improved tourism infrastructure and growing investment ahead of 2030.Sign up for the Traveller newsletterThe latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.Morocco’s appeal rests partly on its proximity to Europe: within a few hours, travellers from cities such as London, Paris and Madrid, can reach a destination that feels culturally removed from their own.Guests enjoy sunset drinks on the roof.Those who travelled through the country during the drought years, however, encountered a different Morocco. The Sahara and the desert landscapes of the south remained much as visitors expected, but agricultural areas, olive groves and mountain landscapes bore the effects of prolonged water shortages.That is now changing.Heavy rain and snow during the winter of 2025-26 lifted national dam levels and prompted Morocco’s water minister to declare the seven-year drought over. The rains replenished reservoirs and revitalised vegetation; they also caused severe flooding in parts of the country.One family-run hotel on Morocco’s Atlantic coast provides a particularly tangible illustration of what the drought meant, and what its end now looks like.Guests can stroll through the groves at Domaine Villa Maroc, a working olive farm.