The Ceuta crisis causes bookings to plunge by 90 %… but not in Morocco

The Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV) says it has observed no mass wave of cancellations for Morocco since the mass crossings recorded in Ceuta on July 30 and 31.

The organization says it checked the situation with tour operators specializing in Morocco and with airlines. “We are seeing neither an avalanche of cancellations nor a massive drop in bookings,” its president, José Manuel Lastra, told Hosteltur.

At the start of the crisis, industry professionals did observe a slowdown in new sales. Some travelers preferred to wait before booking, but already scheduled trips were not canceled in significant numbers.

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Group operations and business travel are also continuing. Tours combining Spain and Morocco, particularly popular with Latin American tourists, continue to operate at their usual pace.

Planes remain full, Ceuta takes the hit

The airlines consulted by the CEAV confirmed a slight slowdown in bookings during the first days of the crisis. They nevertheless indicated that their flights to Morocco continued to post good load factors.

The situation contrasts sharply with that of Ceuta. Tourism accounts for more than 12 % of the city’s annual gross domestic product. Following the mass arrivals of migrants at the end of July, cancellations multiplied and new bookings plunged by 90 %, according to local professionals.

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The crisis is therefore directly hitting Ceuta’s tourism activity without, at this stage, having massively diverted travelers from Morocco. The first cancellations reported by some Spanish agencies remained limited and did not turn into a general trend.

The CEAV does not provide overall statistics on sales to the kingdom, but its assessment is based on information gathered from Spain’s leading specialists in the destination and from air carriers. For José Manuel Lastra, claims of a collapse in tourism in Morocco do not correspond to the reality observed by industry professionals.