Moroccan Summer Nightmare: Soaring Prices and Scams Plague Northern Beach Towns

"850 dirhams per night for a dingy apartment without air conditioning! The owner had shown me beautiful photos on WhatsApp. On site, it was a rude awakening. Literally," fumes Amine, who came to spend a week of vacation in Martil with his wife and two children. Like this family man from Meknes, hundreds of vacationers denounce the rise in prices and the poor quality of tourist services this summer. "In five days in Agadir, I spent the equivalent of my monthly salary. And my children couldn’t even properly enjoy the pool, it was green," complains Salma, a mother of two children.

Vacationers denounce the owners of rental properties whose misleading offers have nothing to do with reality, as well as restaurants that do not display menu prices to make money during the summer season. "We were with the family in a restaurant in Fnideq, very well known by the way. No prices on the menu, we suspected it, but still... When the bill came, they charged us double what we expected. When I protested, the waiter told me: ’It’s high season, there’s nothing we can do,’" testifies Khalid. Rachida, who came from Rabat with her three children to spend a few days in Tangier, is overwhelmed by the chaos on the beach. "A young man came to tell us to leave because that part of the beach was ’reserved for the customers of the snack bar’. My children didn’t understand why we had to leave. Neither did I, for that matter," she confides.

Despite the bans, parasol renters and snack bars illegally occupy the beaches, preventing vacationers from fully enjoying the relaxation areas. "Every morning, it’s the same comedy. We clear out the illegal vendors, and in the evening they’re back. We don’t have the means or the staff to monitor 24/7," exasperates a municipal agent from Tetouan. To no longer suffer the chaos on the beaches, Moroccan vacationers are increasingly abandoning the seaside resorts. "Last year, we stayed in Casablanca. With what we spend in a week on the coast, we can afford outings all year round here," says Youssef, an IT professional and family man.

Scalded cats afraid of cold water, Moroccans who have already been victims of fraud during previous vacations are cautious. "I paid 2,000 dirhams in advance for an apartment in Tangier. Arrived on site, no one at the end of the line. The apartment didn’t even exist! At the police station, they told me to file a complaint and wait... I’m still waiting," confides Ikram. Professionals are not spared either. "Clients arrive distrustful, scalded by bad experiences elsewhere. We have to fight to prove that we are not scammers," laments Fatima, the manager of a family restaurant in Asilah.