Soaring Prices Shatter Summer Dreams: Dutch-Moroccans Face Costly Homecoming in Rif Region

The Rif region is an obvious summer destination for many Dutch people of Moroccan origin with roots in the region, but the rise in prices makes such a stay more difficult, explains Soehayla Halouchi, international correspondent for NOS, in the NOS Radio 1 Journaal. She first mentions the airline tickets that have increased considerably. "Just the plane tickets from the Netherlands cost between 800 and 900 euros in the summer, while outside the summer we’re talking about a maximum of 300 euros," she specified.

The prices of dishes, especially those aimed at tourists, are skyrocketing. "They also sell Dutch classics there. On the Al Hoceima corniche, for example, there are restaurants opened by Dutch people of Moroccan origin, like Het Hoekje, where you can buy a frikandel speciaal for 4.50 € or a grilled sausage sandwich for 7.00 €. These are really unprecedented prices in Morocco," Halouchi further explains.

In addition to the Moroccans living abroad (MREs), the local population is also suffering from the high cost of living. The rise in prices also has consequences for the locals, because it is not only the hotel and restaurant industry aimed at tourists that is becoming more expensive, but also ordinary groceries, explains Halouchi, recalling that "the Rif is one of the poorest regions of Morocco, it is historically a really marginalized area. That’s why many residents complain about prices, especially in the market."

A man living in Nador, in a video that has gone viral among Rifians in Morocco and abroad, cried out in indignation. In Melilla - the Spanish enclave located twenty kilometers away - a coffee costs a third of the price of a coffee in Nador, while people in this Spanish territory earn three times more, he complained. "And there are many other people angry about the price hike in the summer," adds Halouchi.

Why are price fluctuations much more significant in northern Morocco than in other regions of the country, where tourists come all year round and prices are more stable? "This is because the Rif region actually depends on these two summer vacation months. The region has the highest unemployment rate in Morocco, at 25%, and even 37% among young people," it is specified.