Skift Take

Morocco is spending $5 billion to be World Cup-ready, but in doing so, it is putting itself at risk of overtourism in the busiest areas.

Morocco will co-host the 2030 edition of the FIFA World Cup, an immense opportunity for any nation, but one that has tourism chiefs worrying about where hordes of football fans will go. Overtourism is among Morocco's biggest concerns as it heads towards the sporting event, trying to make sure travelers don't swarm only the host cities.

"We’ve seen overtourism around the world, so we need to make sure we develop wisely. We need to make sure we don’t think only about the World Cup and the six cities," said Minister of Tourism Fatim-Zahra Ammor at the Future Hospitality Summit in Dubai this week.

Morocco will host a third of the games in 2030 with Spain and Portugal as the other two host nations. Matches will take place across Rabat, Tangier, M