American Influencers Warn Followers Against Visiting Morocco, Citing Scams and Poor Service

Expensive scams, intimidating interactions, poor service in restaurants... Some TikTok and YouTube users are using the platforms to discourage their followers from visiting Morocco, reports Mail Online. "We showed up at [a restaurant] that I had booked and they claimed I hadn’t booked [and] tried to get rid of us. I had to show the confirmation email. They sat us around dirty tables, didn’t give us menus, looked down on us..." recounts TikToker Sophie Milner, with 40,000 subscribers, who went on vacation to Marrakech earlier this year. The one who kept "extraordinary memories" of her two previous stays in the ochre city says she received the "worst customer service" 90% of the time she spent there (two weeks).

The American TikToker known as "eight-jelly-eight" also shared with her 71,000 followers the bitter experience of a vacation spent with eight of her friends. "The insults were exhausting at a certain point," she confided. She will add: "As a group of nine black American women, speaking English [and] walking around, we were kind of a spectacle. If I was constantly observed and harassed in a group of nine people, I can’t imagine what would happen if I traveled alone." In a video posted on YouTube, experienced travel blogger Ben Frier, Backpacker, explains to his 243,000 subscribers that "relentless" scammers and "aggressive" con artists ruined most of his trip to Morocco.

According to the one who has traveled to more than 80 countries, Morocco is one of the countries with the highest number of con artists and that "it ruins the whole experience." "We had three or four occasions where the locals tried to fight with me because we refused what they were offering us," adds the native of Plymouth, advising his followers to "be careful" where they take photos and videos, to always ask taxi drivers to use a meter to avoid being overcharged and to beware of restaurants that distribute menus on the street showing a price, but charge double once you’ve eaten.

Viewed more than 127,600 times, Ben’s video elicited reactions from Internet users. "As a Moroccan, I think it’s time for international tourists to start sharing this kind of experience. The Moroccan government prides itself on being a tourist country, but it doesn’t crack down enough on scammers. I hope things will change," commented one of them. However, not all influencers have had the same experiences. Some make Morocco their favorite destination. TikToker Kemoy Martin says he loved his stay in Morocco so much that he "never wanted to leave." His colleague "Meisha" confided that her trip to Morocco was "the trip of her dreams."