Morocco-Spain Tensions Lead to Tourist Boycott, Costing Billions

Moroccan tourists have decided to boycott the Spain destination this year, informs the daily Assabah, in its report on the effects of the diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Spain on the Spanish economy. This context of tensions between the two countries does not allow parliamentarians, ministers, senior officials and other public figures from Morocco to spend their holidays in Spain, the same source believes.

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Moroccans who usually have the means to afford vacations on the Costa Del Sol or the Balearics, estimated at 900,000 in 2019, have chosen this year to do domestic tourism, resulting in a huge loss for the Spanish tourism industry. According to estimates, the losses would be 3 billion dirhams, assuming that each Moroccan tourist spends an average of 50 euros per day in Spain and that the average length of stay is 6 days. With shopping expenses, this amount should reach an average of 4 billion dirhams per year, the same source specifies.

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The same observation is made in the real estate sector where Moroccans have shown their interest in Spanish housing. In 2020, despite the health crisis, about 3,000 apartments were acquired by non-resident Moroccans. And with the diplomatic crisis between the two countries, the acquisition rate will drop, warns the same source, which adds that the apartments already acquired will also remain unoccupied throughout the summer season.

The cancellation by Morocco of the Marhaba Operation this year, effectively excluding the Spanish ports, has caused major losses for the ports of Algeciras and Almeria and the tourist establishments of the Spanish cities through which Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) usually transit.