Morocco’s Tourism Surge Backfires: Expats Abandon Homecoming for Cheaper Destinations

"This year, I preferred to skip it for two reasons. First, there is the CAN that will be played in Morocco for a full month. So I prioritized a winter vacation rather than a summer one, to be sure I could attend. A CAN at home, you can’t miss it, it doesn’t happen every day. Then, even if I had considered going just for a week, if only to see the family and enjoy it a bit, it would have been complicated. Prices have skyrocketed: whether it’s for eating, grocery shopping or indulging in an activity, everything has become outrageously expensive," says an MRE living in Strasbourg to Le360. He laments: "Already last year it was exaggerated, but now it’s even worse. It’s a shame, because it ends up changing our habits... Visiting loved ones, reconnecting with one’s roots, is becoming a luxury that everyone can no longer afford."

Rachid, a resident of Frankfurt, expresses the same concerns: "This year, I’m not coming. Too expensive, too complicated." Since 2024, this 45-year-old man is coming to Morocco for the first time to spend the summer holidays. The reason is the price of tickets and the cost of living on site. Naïma, living in Bordeaux with her husband, has chosen to fly to Antalya (Turkey). "We found an all-inclusive package, for twelve days in a 4-star hotel, for less than ten days in Saïdia," she says. A much better offer compared to the accommodation at 1,500 dirhams per night that she had booked in Saïdia, Morocco. "It was without air conditioning, without a washing machine, and two kilometers from the beach," she explains, adding that she has canceled the housing reservation.

While some MREs are canceling their trip, others are returning to Morocco. This is the case of Karim, a retiree in Perpignan. He arrived in Nador at the end of July. But he is facing the harsh reality. "Everything has become expensive. Gasoline, meat, even ice cream for the children," he laments. On the ground, the observation is real. In Fnideq, Tangier, Saïdia or Agadir, complaints about apartment and hotel rates are piling up. Some offers reach 2,000 to 4,000 dirhams per night in mid-range establishments. According to testimonies, round-trip airline tickets amount to more than 35,000 dirhams for a family of three.

While Moroccans remain attached to Morocco, they are faced with an increasingly constraining budget equation. "At this stage of the summer season, it would be premature to conclude that there is dynamism, a boycott or a disaffection of the MRE. The consolidated data at the end of July and the beginning of August, which historically correspond to the peak of attendance, will be decisive in drawing a complete and reliable picture," estimates Zoubir Bouhoute, an expert in tourist flows. He will add: "What we observe is less a sudden drop than a shift in uses. There is a form of prudence, an adaptation to a more tense economic environment, or even a reallocation of tourism spending to other periods, other destinations or other formats."