By Fatima Zohra Bouaziz
Marrakech, Morocco (EFE). — Traditional riads in Marrakech, once family homes at the heart of the historic medina, have increasingly been converted into tourist hotels over the past two decades, driven by booming tourism and rising real estate prices that have reshaped daily life in the Moroccan city.
Riads, inward-facing houses built around a central courtyard with a garden or fountain, are a defining feature of Marrakech’s old town, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985.
Today, staying or dining in a riad has become a staple of the tourist experience.
Historic neighbourhoods such as Bab Doukkala, Mouassine and Laqsour are now dominated by tourist riads, with only a handful of Moroccan families still living there.
“In our street, only three families remain. The rest of the riads are hotels,” Sara, a resident of Jamaa Street in the medina, told EFE. “Sometimes several houses are even merged into a single riad.”
She said most riads in her neighbourhood are owned by foreigners who purchased them as profitable investments, driving up property prices. One riad belonging to a friend was recently offered for sale for 20 million dirhams (about 2.2 million dollars), she added.
Historically, riads were homes for aristocratic families and the urban bourgeoisie, merchants and artisans, due to their proximity to workplaces and the iconic Jemaa el-Fna square.
From homes to hotels
From the late 1990s onward, many riads began to be transformed into boutique hotels as tourism expanded and international interest in Marrakech’s architectural heritage grew.
“Foreigners started buying and restoring these houses to turn them into tourist accommodation,” said Abdelali, a 40-year-old tour guide and lifelong medina resident.
“When I was a child, these neighbourhoods were full of families. Now there are historic areas where no one lives anymore,” he said.
The medina covers around 600 hectares (approximately 1,483 acres) of narrow, winding streets enclosed by a nearly 19-kilometre (about 11.8-mile) wall, making it one of the largest and best-preserved historic city centres in North Africa.
Cultural immersion draws tourists
According to Salah Wahili, president of the Marrakech Tourist Guides Association, visitors are drawn to riads because they offer a sense of immersion in Moroccan daily life and traditions.
“Most first-time visitors choose to stay in a riad,” Wahili told EFE.
To adapt to changing demand, many establishments now offer hammam experiences, Moroccan cooking classes and host weddings, birthdays and cultural events.
However, Wahili stressed that preserving the authenticity of the medina is essential to sustaining this tourism model.
“We must protect the souks, neighbourhood shops, hammams and community spaces that, together with the riads, give Marrakech its spirit,” he said.
Riads have become an inseparable part of Marrakech’s tourism industry, as the city prepares to host matches during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 World Cup.
Official figures show Marrakech recorded 11 million overnight stays in the first ten months of the year, accounting for 31% of the national total.
Morocco welcomed a record 18 million tourists in the first 11 months of 2025, surpassing the full-year figure for 2024. EFE
fzb/seo
