Bazaars in Morocco, the specialized shops for selling traditional and antique products, are among the most important interfaces for tourism in the kingdom, and a signpost for marketing of locally made products.
Moroccan bazaars are of the most important platforms for sale and marketing for all the traditional manufacturing activities, totaling 2.265 million craftsmen and craftswomen according to the report issued by the Ministry of Handicraft and Social Economy and Solidarity in 2013.
According to the same report, the traditional manufacturing sector achieves 82.1 billion dirhams (more than 8.199 billion dollars), 0.83% of which are acquired by the internal market. The same report cited that the handicraft sector which is significantly associated with sale in bazaars achieved an annual growth rate between 2007 and 2012, equivalent to 13%.
According to Fatima Marwan, the Minister of Handicraft and Social Economy and Solidarity, The ministry is focused on rehabilitation of traditional manufacturers who supply shops that sell their products, as well on the creation of some kind of balance between profits of marketers and industrialists.
The most important gatherings of bazaars in Morocco are distributed across major touristic and economic cities, namely Marrakech, Fez, Essaouira, Agadir and Casablanca.
Demand on products exhibited in bazaars starts from february and lasts until June. Leather products with all their varieties are the most popular for both tourists and Moroccans, followed by art pieces made of wood and precious metals, then traditional Moroccan clothes, especially the kaftan (a traditional female dress). Tourists from the United States, Russia, and Latin America, ousted the Europeans from the throne of loyal customers of traditional Moroccan industry.
Bazaars in Morocco are divided into three categories, namely large, medium and small. Large bazaars require an available area of at least 5000 square meters covered, and operates the wings system, which means that each product has its own gallery. They achieve an annual turnover exceeding 15 million dirhams (more than 1.503 million dollars). The medium and small ones achieve respectively five million dirhams (about 501.074 thousand dollars) and one million dirhams (about 100.214 thousand dollars).
