A record 13 million tourists visited Morocco in 2019, up 5.2 percent from the previous year, official figures showed Wednesday. The number includes Moroccans from the diaspora, who account for around half of visitors annually.

Tourism revenues hit 78.6 billion dirhams ($8.16 billion) in 2019, up from 73.04 billion dirhams ($7.58 billion) the year before, the Moroccan Tourism Observatory said.

It attributed the rise - for the first crossing the 12-million mark - to its primary markets, France and Spain.

The North African country has benefited from increased air links, with low-cost carriers launching new routes to Europe. The former imperial city of Marrakesh, with its UNESCO-listed Old Town, and Agadir on the coast together accounted for 57 percent of the 25.2 million hotel stays last year, the Observatory said.