More than 200 thousand visitors to the International Exhibition of Publishing and Books in Rabat

Organizers of the 27th International Book and Publishing Fair in Rabat said that the ten-day cultural event that concluded last night welcomed more than 200,000 visitors.

In a statement on Monday, the organizers said that the number of visitors reached 202,089, “a number that exceeded expectations in light of the situation related to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as precautionary measures.”

The Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication said in a statement that “the number of copies sold amounted to about 1.5 million copies,” noting that books with contents related to the humanities, languages ​​and literature topped the exhibits.

The ministry said: “457 participants participated in organizing the activities of this exhibition, which was organized for the first time in Rabat, out of 26 sessions organized by Casablanca, from the second to the 12th of June.”
African literature was the guest of honor for the session, in which 712 exhibitors from 55 countries participated, and the number of books in which exceeded 100,000 titles.

On his Facebook page, the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed El-Mahdi Bensaïd, described the number of visitors as “an important figure that shows Moroccans’ interest in the book and the culture of reading.”

A number of exhibitors and exhibition goers expressed their admiration for the organization of this session in the city of Rabat, but they considered that the turnout of visitors was less than what they were accustomed to in Casablanca.

The last session of the fair was organized in Casablanca in February 2020, that is, before the first cases of Corona were recorded in Morocco in March of the same year, while the next session was stopped due to the closure conditions.