Moroccan Expats Face Soaring Travel Costs for Summer Return Home

In a question addressed to the minister, the Socialist group reported the exorbitant rise in travel ticket prices and the demands of Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) who are calling for a reduction in the rates offered by European maritime and airline companies to allow them to spend their summer vacation in Morocco. In response, Mohammed Abdeljalil affirmed that he is aware of the rise in prices, stressing that this situation is due to the law of supply and demand and the rise in fuel prices "due to inflation worldwide".

For its part, the group of the General Union of Moroccan Workers asked the Minister of Transport what measures he intends to take to "reduce the prices of transport tickets to Morocco for Moroccans of the world", deploring the suffering endured by MREs who wish to spend their summer vacation and celebrate Eid al-Adha with their families in Morocco. "We must not leave Moroccans of the world, who render precious services to the Kingdom, particularly through their transfers and the contribution of foreign exchange thanks to tourism, exposed to what is called the law of supply and demand, or to statements that this market is liberalized and that we have no control over it".

The General Union of Moroccan Workers asked the minister to do what is necessary to "preserve the purchasing power of Moroccans of the world so that the increase in ticket prices does not constitute an obstacle to their return to their country of residence". For his part, Mohammed Abdeljalil recalled that "the Marhaba Operation is at the heart of the ministry’s concerns" and that 3.2 million MREs, "most of them from the countries of southern Europe, particularly from the ports of Spain", participated in this Operation last year. In detail, "900,000 MREs entered through the ports, compared to 800,000 through the land border posts and 1.5 million through the airports," he specified.

For the success of the Marhaba Operation 2024, the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity has opened 24 reception spaces to provide social assistance and medical care services to MREs. 18 of these centers are located in Morocco, particularly in the ports of Tanger Med, Tanger Ville, Al Hoceima and Nador, in the airports of Casablanca Mohammed V, Rabat Salé, Oujda Angad, Nador Al Aroui, Agadir Al Massira, Fès Saïss, Marrakech Menara, Tanger Ibn Battouta, in the rest areas of Tanger Med, Mdiq, as well as at the border posts of Bab Sebta and Bab Melilia". The remaining six centers are open in the ports of Genoa in Italy, Sète and Marseille in France, Almeria, Algeciras and Motril in Spain.