The Ceuta crisis is beginning to drive Spanish tourists away from Morocco

The first effect of the Ceuta crisis on Morocco is beginning to be felt by Spanish travel agencies.

Since the mass crossings at the border at the end of July, new bookings made in Spain for stays in Morocco have been increasing more slowly.

The Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV) has not, for the moment, observed a massive wave of cancellations. Its president, José Manuel Lastra, nevertheless acknowledges “a slowdown in the pace of new bookings” to the kingdom, Europa Press reports.

The sector is now closely monitoring how the situation develops. Professionals hope for a swift return to normal in Ceuta to prevent travelers’ concerns from weighing on sales over the long term.

The Spanish market is particularly important for Moroccan tourism. According to the CEAV president, nearly four million Spaniards travel to Morocco every year.

The current slowdown therefore does not mean that all these travelers have abandoned their trips. It does, however, show that some are now hesitant to make a new booking.

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This caution emerged after tens of thousands of people arrived in Ceuta from Morocco, causing a major political, security and humanitarian crisis in Spain.

Latin American bookings are not slowing

Spanish agencies and tour operators also market stays in Morocco to travelers from Latin America. In these markets, bookings are continuing as usual.

The decline therefore mainly concerns clients living in Spain, who are directly exposed to the images and debates triggered by the Ceuta crisis.

Other data published on Thursday confirm this nervousness surrounding stays planned for September. The professional platform Travelgate analyzed room bookings and cancellations in Morocco recorded over the past seven days.

For Spanish travelers, stays planned for September accounted for 60% of the new bookings observed, but also 84.13% of the cancellations recorded during the period, Hosteltur reports.

The difference between the two findings is also explained by the scope used. Travelgate tracks activity recorded on its platform over one week, whereas the CEAV relies on more general reports from its member agencies.

Nevertheless, the two sources agree on one point: the crisis is beginning to prompt caution among Spanish travelers.

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For Morocco, the issue now will be whether this hesitation disappears quickly or continues through the autumn.

The crisis remains very present in Spain’s public debate. A report by the Spanish National Police questions the role of Moroccan forces during the mass crossings, while political statements concerning Ceuta continue to fuel tensions between the two countries.

For now, Spanish tourists who have already booked are therefore not abandoning their trips en masse. But those who were considering traveling to Morocco now appear more likely to wait before confirming their stay.

After directly striking Ceuta’s tourism and economy, the crisis is thus beginning to produce its first effects on the other side of the border.