The area has been described as a “property hotspot”. Be this as it may, there are a large number of developments in the area.

One factor contributing to the relatively low purchase prices is the historical lack of direct travel routes to the area. A number of investors have factored-in the recent(ish) “Open Skies” agreement with Morocco allowing a number of carriers to open new routes. This has started to happen with low-cost carriers such as Easyjet and Ryanair flying to cities in Morocco such as Marrakech.

It must be understood that there is a “chicken & egg” situation with opening new routes. The airline must see enough potential passengers to make the route profitable while the region (in this case including the tourist industry) wants the easy travel links to build the demand in the area.

The Tunnel
There is also talk of a tunnel between the European mainland and the North African coast. There has been some outline planning on both sides, a contractor has been appointed and detailed planning is due to start in 2008. Given the history of projects of this size (it’s much more complicated than the channel tunnel) this is a long-term option which may help to sustain growth and investment in the area but will not be useful for those wishing to travel to the area in the next couple of years.

Growth Prospects
Given the amount of development in the area it seems probable that the travel links will improve as demand grows. In the interim there are a number of people who want to travel easily and cheaply to the area now. These will include :-

• Owners of property
• Prospective owners checking the area
• Developers / Agents wishing to show their properties to prospects
• Owners of properties wanting to rent-out their properties
• Renters of property
• Other tourists / travellers