Relaxnews – 20 hrs ago
Casablanca’s Morocco Mall, the largest shopping mall in North Africa and the Middle East, will open its doors in early December.
The ten-hectare development along the Casablanca Corniche was originally intended to open this month, but has been pushed back by six weeks to open December 5.
Spanning around 200,000 square meters of floor space and offering some 350 outlets, the mall includes three levels with a mix of activities designed to position it as a destination that caters to all of the needs of its visitors.
It will bring a host of leading brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren, Zegna, Fnac and Gap to Morocco for the first time, along with an outpost of Parisian favorite, department store Galeries Lafayette.
The centerpiece, a one-million liter aquarium, will lead to four different ‘streets’ with restaurants and a nearby musical fountain, the largest such monument in Africa.
Other attractions include an ice rink and an IMAX theater.
With a seafront location in Western Casablanca, the mall is expected to become something of a tourist attraction in its own right, with 14,000 square meters of landscaped gardens and a direct connection to the Casablanca waterfront promenade and the Atlantic Ocean.
The mall is the latest move in an effort to help brand Morocco as a premier shopping destination in North Africa, following the model adopted by Abu Dhabi, Dubai and increasingly Turkey.
Earlier this year, tourism authorities announced the launch of the country’s first VAT reclaim service, designed to allow travelers to claim tax back on purchases made, with 890 brands included.
