On a trip to Marrakesh last month, I visited Les Borjs de la Kasbah, another new riad within the old walls of the city.

Unlike the usual four- or five-bedroomed riad hotel converted from a family house, however, this was an extraordinary 18-roomed property hewn from seven townhouses.

With its own bar, restaurant, spa and swimming pool, Franco-British owners Mike Bruce-Mitford and his wife have created an exceptional hotel in the medina, overlooking the Royal Palace.

On face value, it appears another agreeable addition to the wealth of accommodation choices in Marrakesh, a city that could be expected to benefit hugely from the euro's strength against the pound.

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But then I met Aziz Mnii, who works for the Moroccan National Tourist Office in London. Aziz is worried that Marrakesh could be heading for saturation, of having too many beds for too few tourists in 2009.

He tells me that there are now a staggering 700 riads in the city, mostly owned by French or British nationals who either turn them into small hotels or keep them as a second home.

While riads are the hotel of choice for most couples or backpackers seeking an 'authentic' stay in the old walls, there is also potentially about to be a huge over supply of hotels in Marrakesh.

No less than 15 new hotels will open in the city within one month, in December next year. Rocco Forte and Gordon Campbell Gray (One Aldwych) are among those adding thousands more expensive hotel rooms during 2009.

But against this backdrop of expansive hotel investment, the number of British tourists is actually falling.

The number heading to Morocco fell sharply this year, from around 420,000 in 2007 to a predicted 350,000 in 2008, largely due to a fall in the number of flights - the sale of GB Airways to easyJet a year ago resulted in 40 per cent fewer flights to Morocco in 2008.

With airline profits being hammered this year and next, further cancellations of flights will be expected across Europe and North Africa.

And that is what worries Aziz - too many riads and too many hotels, but not enough flights. And then there is the added worry that Marrakesh could lose too much of its character anyway, if volumes of tourists swamped the kasbahs.

But tourism is now pivotal to the economy, with no industry to speak of and fruit being the biggest export. So the Moroccans are desperately trying to encourage more flights.

I hear that a low-cost airline based in Saudi Arabia is planning its first franchise, to be based in Marrakesh, and with London as a prime route. New Bmi flights with Cadogan Holidays could also launch in October, 2009.

What does this all mean for travellers in 2009? I'd say great deals for independent travellers who can fly on non-peak days and who can expect good rates for hotel rooms and riads - particularly if there are no flights added in 2009.

But should sterling continue to slip against the euro, countries such as Morocco, Turkey and Egypt will become increasingly in demand and prices may remain stable. Watch this space.

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