RABAT, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A total of 8.7 million tourists visited Morocco in the first eight months of 2018, up 8 percent year on year, according to statistics released by the Moroccan Tourism Ministry on Thursday.

The number of foreign tourists hiked by 14 percent, while the arrivals of Moroccans living abroad increased by 2 percent between January and August, the statistics showed.

The growth was mainly driven by the continuous increase of visits from traditional European markets.

The statistics showed an increase of 14 percent in Italian tourist arrivals, 10 percent in German tourists, 7 percent in French visitors, and 6 percent in Dutch tourists.

Despite the increase in the number of tourists, Morocco's tourism revenues slightly increased between January and August to 4.88 billion U.S. dollars, compared to 4.82 billion in the first eight months of 2017.

The Moroccan tourism operators explain this situation by several factors, including the decline in the value of euro and the reduction of hotels' prices.

In 2017, Morocco registered a record 11.35 million tourist arrivals, a 10-percent increase than in 2016.