New BMI flights to Nice provide for more flexible group opportunities—and will a new route to Agadir put the south Moroccan coast on the group agenda? ......
Nice - More Options
Nice, an evergreen and ever popular destination for groups has been added to the BMI route map from 25th August. Operating a daily Airbus A319 flight featuring Business and Economy classes, the early evening departure provides "a great option for clients based in London and the M4 corridor who want to minimise working time lost through getting to the airport" according to Chris Townsend, BI WORLDWIDE's resident aviation guru. The flight schedule becomes double daily from October 30th, with the addition of a morning departure and afternoon return. 16-18° of winter warmth and the promise of nice sunny days, ensures Nice's popularity as a winter conference destination. The addition of new flight schedules now adds new options for groups, enhancing the Nice appeal.
A Good Year for Agadir?
BMI is also opening a new, and third, Moroccan route to Agadir in the south. Will it prove to be a hit with groups? The infrastructure may well need to catch up to a degree, however, the location is appealing, thanks to its southerly, coastal location, and close proximity to the southern Atlas mountains.
Morocco is now a popular destination thanks to the previous access issues being addressed by BA and BMI, and King Mohammed VI's "Vision 2020", targeting 18 million visitors by 2020. With the majority of luxury properties in Marrakech, the vision's Plan Azur sees an investment of US$3 billion in new hotels and infrastructure in six new coastal zones, close to airports such as Tangier, Casablanca and Agadir, and the addition of 180,000 new beds.
More to Morroco
Marrakech is a great destination. That is now beyond debate, however investment is expensive, and with groups such as Accor investing $200 million and targeting 11 new openings by 2013 in Agadir, Casablanca, Tangier, Rabat, El Jadida and Fez, Agadir is perefectly placed to become an exciting group destination in the near future. Watch this space.
In the meantime, the more intrepid can make use of BMI's twice daily, twice weekly schedule.
