Moroccan diaspora breath sigh of relief at Royal instructions to make international travel cheaper

Members of the Moroccan community living abroad lauded the decision by King Mohammed VI to issue instructions for Moroccan travel operators to make travel tickets cheaper.

The Moroccan diaspora is estimated at over 5 million people mostly living in Europe. Most of its members return during the summer holidays to visit the country and see relatives. Last year, few could visit due to the pandemic and demand on sea and air travel tickets surged.

After the royal call, prices have been significantly slashed and some 42 airlines offered flights to Morocco with a capacity of 3.5 million seats between June 15 and September 30.

Besides French and Italian ports, Morocco is in talks with Portugal to link the port of Portimao with Tangier Med for ferry passenger traffic.

The Spanish ports of Algeciras, Tarifa and Malaga were excluded from the Marhaba operation 2021.

The arrival of the Moroccan diaspora this summer will be key to save a tourist industry hit by restrictive measures to contain the pandemic.

Remittances by Moroccans living abroad are also key to Morocco’s hard currency inflow.