Moroccan Tourism Boom Derailed: Soaring Prices Shock Visitors and Cripple Local Businesses

"Before, with 200 dirhams, I could make the crossing of the Atlas and come back with a good tagine. Today, I spend that just for lunch," exclaims Mehdi, a tourist from Fez, on vacation in Marrakech with his partner. Faced with the dizzying rise in prices, the couple had to revise their plans. "Even the small riads have doubled their rates. We had to shorten our stay," his partner confides to Hespress.

Many visitors, both domestic and foreign, are confronted with this harsh reality of inflation in tourist service prices. "We’ve been coming to Morocco since 2017, but we’ve never seen such increases. Excursions cost almost as much as in Europe," an foreign tourist on vacation in Agadir indignantly posts on social media.

The disillusionment is great among professionals who were hoping for a influx of visitors to replenish their coffers. "We’ve raised prices a bit to keep up with costs, but we’ve lost customers. Tourists look at the menus, take a look and leave," laments Rachid, manager of a small restaurant in the medina of Rabat. The boatmen of the Bouregreg in Rabat are experiencing the same reality. "The local clientele has melted like snow in the sun. They all say the same thing: ’it’s too expensive,’" deplores Hamid, a boatman for 15 years.

The same observation is made in the north of the kingdom. In Saïdia, tourists are invading the beaches and neglecting the terraces, which remain desperately empty. "Prices have exploded: accommodation, catering, fuel, plane tickets, everything is more expensive. This trend clearly discourages Moroccans living in the country, but also Moroccans living abroad. Many choose to shorten their stay or stay with family instead of going to a hotel," explains tourism expert Zoubir Bouhoute.

And he adds: "We bet on mechanical growth, but we forgot that the purchasing power of tourists, Moroccans in particular, has been decimated." To reverse the trend, the expert recommends a review of pricing policies and better coordination between industry players. "Morocco has everything to please: diversity, heritage, sun. But if professionals don’t revise their strategies, we’re headed for a lasting disaffection," says Bouhoute, who believes that Morocco "is a victim of its own success."