Moroccan Expats Outraged as Travel Ticket Prices Soar for Summer Return

In his response to questions from deputies in the House of Councillors, Mohamed Abdeljalil stated that the transport sector is subject to the law of supply and demand, without outlining the measures his department intends to take to reduce the prices of travel tickets by air, sea and land for Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) who wish to spend their summer vacation in Morocco.

The founding president of the Association "With Consumers", Ahmed Bioud, expressed his surprise at the minister’s remarks, stating that "the Moroccan diaspora is now caught between the claws of fierce competition between transport companies, and this situation has become untenable." In statements to Hespress, Bioud lamented that "some companies are raising their rates during the summer season, which coincides with a shortage in the air, land and sea transport fleet."

To find a viable solution to this recurring problem, the official proposes "the creation of a specific fund to collect the remittances of Moroccans abroad in order to provide a company or a private office offering low prices all year round." According to the data from the Foreign Exchange Office published in April, "the remittances of Moroccans residing abroad reached the equivalent of 17.70 billion dirhams at the end of February 2024, compared to 17.44 billion dirhams a year earlier."

Ali Chtour, president of the Moroccan Association for the Defense of Consumer Rights, insisted on the urgent need for the Ministry of Transport to "find an effective solution to the rise in ticket prices for Moroccans in the diaspora, given their significant contribution to the national economy," calling on the authorities of the kingdom to "anticipate" these situations, rather than "looking for solutions when problems arise."