Marrakech: Too Many Fake Guides

Near Jemaa el-Fna square, anonymous advertising posters and fake foreign guides are multiplying. Salouane Berrada, president of the Association of Travel Agencies in Marrakech, denounces to Hespress a disloyal competition and massive tax evasion. He is alarmed by these uninsured service providers offering excursions at 200 dirhams, asserting that this legal vacuum raises many questions about guaranteeing tourist safety.

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This discounted pricing offer attracts customers seeking bargain prices, to the detriment of real economic benefit for the nation. The union representative of guides estimates that a 200-dirham rate including transport, quad biking, camel riding and dinner is completely illogical. He claims that these services hide other objectives and that one can sense "a whiff of money laundering."

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Professionals are demanding strict enforcement of the law and better training to counter misinformation among travelers. Yet this illegal sector finds some defenders at the institutional level thanks to its accommodation capacity. Former State Secretary Lamia Boutaleb emphasized that the informal sector holds "great importance" in achieving the goal of welcoming ever-larger volumes of vacationers.