Moroccan Tourists Return to Marbella, but Spending Habits Shift Post-Pandemic

Arab tourists, including Moroccans, are numerous on vacation in Marbella. "They are very spendthrift at the hotel and make a lot of purchases," explains Rocío Galán, director of the Meliá Don Pepe hotel in Marbella. But in the shops at Porto Banús, the influx is not very large. At night, the Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis park, the young people get out to buy ice creams, but do not enter the shops or places of entertainment.

Arab tourists continue to spend fortunes to buy valuables, but not as in previous years. "There are more rich businessmen. They have a lot of money, but it’s not the same as a king or an emir," explains Miguel Gomez y Molina, a jeweler in Marbella who has recorded a 40 to 50% drop in sales.

"Now they ask for discounts," notes this jeweler, who specifies that the health crisis linked to Covid-19 which has considerably weakened purchasing power, as well as the rise in fuel prices, are at the origin of this situation. On the other hand, several Arab tourists residing in the United Kingdom prefer to buy "tax-free", thus benefiting from reductions of up to 20%.

"We have a lot of international influx, especially from Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. Our figures this summer are very positive and we had nothing to envy the European centers," says Javier Mendizábal, director of McArthurGlen, a luxury shopping center located next to the Plaza Mayor in Malaga.