A view of Djamaa Lafna square and its restaurants in Marrakesh's old city December 18, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal

A total of 9.7 million tourists visited Morocco between January and October 2017, up 9 percent compared to a year earlier, according to the statistics released by Tourism Ministry on Thursday.

International tourist arrivals jumped 14 percent, while Moroccans living abroad visiting their homeland rose 5 percent, the ministry said.

Arrivals from the traditional European markets showed an increase of 14 percent in German tourists, 8 percent in Dutch tourists and 7 percent in French tourists.

The increase was also driven by the surge in the emerging tourist markets, especially China and Brazil. Chinese arrivals jumped 203 percent, while Brazilian visitors rose 51 percent.

A total of 10.3 million tourists visited Morocco in 2016, up 1.5 percent from 2015.

Morocco expects tourist arrivals to grow at least 6 percent in 2017