Taghazout

Taghazout is a municipality in the Agadir Atlantique district of the prefecture of Agadir-Ida-Ou-Tanane, which belongs to the Souss-Massa region.¹ In the 2024 census it had 4,861 inhabitants in 1,393 households; the neighbouring municipality of Aourir in the same district counted 46,032, the whole prefecture 721,431.² The HCP's municipal overview gives a resident population of 4,854, of whom 22.3 per cent were under 15 and 17.8 per cent aged 60 or over.³

The village has a centre for small-scale coastal fishing, where 80 traditional boats were based in early 2019, crewed by 240 fishermen. By the end of September 2018, 46.4 tonnes worth 3.9 million dirhams had been landed there.⁴ In February 2019 the centre's fishing cooperative received, under an agreement with the fisheries ministry and the Office National des Pêches, 80 outboard motors of 15 horsepower, a tractor for hauling up the boats and a hydraulic lift, together worth 1.96 million dirhams.⁵

Since the 1960s Taghazout has drawn musicians and travellers, Le Matin reported in 2025, citing National Geographic.⁶ As surf spots the paper names Banana Beach and Panoramas for beginners and Anchor Point and Boilers for experienced surfers, with waves breaking to the right; surf schools in the village offer lessons and guiding.⁷

The World Surf League holds events of its Qualifying Series at Anchor Point. The Pro Taghazout Bay, a QS 3,000 event held from 22 February to 1 March 2025, was won by Jorgann Couzinet and Francisca Veselko.⁸ For 2026 the event was scheduled from 22 to 29 March as a QS 4,000, co-sanctioned by WSL Europe and WSL Africa.⁹

The Taghazout Bay resort goes back to the Plan Azur, launched in 2001. After the foreign developers Dallah Al Baraka and Colony Capital withdrew, the state took over the project in 2011 through the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion, SMIT and Ithmar Capital.¹⁰ It is run by the Société d'Aménagement et de Promotion de la Station de Taghazout (SAPST), founded in July 2011 with a capital of 1.5 billion dirhams and owned by four Moroccan shareholders.¹¹

According to SAPST, the resort covers 615 hectares along a 4.5-kilometre strip of coast;¹² La Vie éco gave a site area of 650 hectares in 2019.¹³ The resort includes a 27-hole golf course and the Surf Tadenga surf school on five hectares by the sea, which has offered lessons since April 2016; the residential offer comprises almost 2,000 units.¹⁴

The first hotels of the resort opened in 2015, a Hyatt Place with 300 beds, and in 2016, a Melia Sol House with 180 beds.¹⁵ The Fairmont Taghazout Bay followed in 2021. In summer 2025 there were 3,400 beds in operation, with 1,400 more to be added by 2026.¹⁶

Above the village stands Targant, a museum of the argan tree with a production unit, a shop for argan and prickly pear oil, a restaurant and workshops. It supports women's cooperatives of the region; nearby, the Bab Taghazout market sells pottery, carpets and other crafts.¹⁷