Morocco Sees 16% Drop in Diaspora Arrivals During Summer Travel Season

More precisely, 270,754 MRE vehicles accessed Morocco through the four ports of Tanger Med, Tanger ville, Nador and Al Hoceima, selected for the Marhaba Operation, a decrease of 16% compared to 2019, said Mustapha Baitas, the government spokesman, during a press conference.

During this return phase, a total of 885,465 MRE and 197,754 vehicles have already embarked from Moroccan ports, representing a decrease of 14% and 17% respectively compared to 2019, added Baitas, specifying that the port of Tanger Med absorbed the most important traffic of the Operation, with the arrival of 673,419 MRE and 177,282 vehicles, and the return of 498,788 MRE and 119,374 vehicles.

The Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, indicated on Tuesday that the Marhaba Operation recorded a total transit of 2.8 million MRE, a figure that includes arrivals and departures by air and land from Ceuta and Melilla. In 2019, the last year the Operation was organized, a total of 3,242,970 MRE and 760,215 vehicles had joined Morocco via the Spanish ports, according to figures from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.

The Marhaba Operation takes place between June 15 and September 15 each year and allows MRE to join Morocco to spend their summer vacation there. For reasons of the health crisis related to Covid-19 and the diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Spain, it was not organized in 2020 and 2021.