There is a shortage of holiday rental accommodation in Morocco, according to a real estate company specialising in the area.

Michael Kent, managing director of Moroccan Sands, described a "shortage of buy-to-let properties in Morocco at the moment".

Mr Kent added that currently there was an occupancy rate of around 85 per cent, even in relatively developed areas such as Marrakech.

He said: "Somewhere like Tangier has got a massive under-supply of rental accommodation. The number of visitors has gone up by 40 per cent but the actual number of accommodation hasn't increased at all in the last five years.

"When they finish building Tangier airport it will become another weekend destination. I see it as a place that people who go to Barcelona or Prague will start going to Tangier as well."

It is thought that Tangier will increasingly cater to a different niche of independent travellers to Morocco who seek western comforts such as beach bars and conventional European nightlife.

This suggests that while the demand for holiday homes in Morocco as a whole may increase, hiking property prices, Tangiers could experience a more concentrated boom.