Over 5.4 million tourists visited Morocco in the first half of 2019, up 6.6% from last year, Moroccan Tourism Observatory said Friday.

Between January and June, the number of foreign tourists rose 6.2 percent while the arrivals of Moroccans living abroad grew 7.1 percent, according to a report of the Observatory.

The main tourism markets witnessed an increase in arrivals during this period, particularly Italy 12 percent, France 9 percent, Spain 8 percent, Germany 8 percent, the Netherlands 7 percent, Belgium 6 percent and the United Kingdom 6 percent, the report added.

Morocco’s major tourist destinations Marrakech and Agadir posted increases of 8 percent and 4 percent respectively, said the report.

Tourism receipts reached 3.4 billion dollars at the same period.