Record 2 Million Moroccan Expats Return Home for Summer in ’Marhaba’ Operation

In total, 2,056,578 members of the expatriate Moroccan community, i.e. 12.34% more than in 2018, entered the Kingdom through the various Moroccan border posts between June 5 and August 4, 2019, according to the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN).

Some 1,173,847 MREs took the ports of Tanger Med (510,928), Ceuta (196,961), Nador 180,068, Melilla (142,567) and, finally, Tanger ville (128,684).

According to DGSN data, those who preferred the air route are around 882,731 individuals, including 250,548, via Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca, 144,684, via Marrakech Menara, 97,510, via Fès-Saïss, 94,138 via Tanger Ibn Batouta and, finally, 70,138, via Oujda-Angad Airport.

The number of vehicles entering Morocco stands at 284,232, an increase of 15.19% compared to 2018.

In addition, the Mohammed V Foundation, responsible for supporting the MREs, has opened a new reception site at Ibn Batouta Airport, given that 30% of the total arrivals of MREs are concentrated in the city of the Strait.

On the ground, the Foundation has mobilized about twenty private and public partners, more than 800 assistants and more than 200 doctors and paramedical staff.

If the current pace is maintained or accelerates, the 2019 "Marhaba" Operation will experience a historic influx during the Eid al-Adha period between August 5 and 10.