What are your thoughts about this lady's comments ?
This was my second time in Morocco. I had been there in 2001 for 2 weeks and had a good time, and apart from a bit of hassle in Marrakech thought it was much more relaxed and hassle free than say, Egypt. Has it changed in the last six years? Most definitely yes and not for the better.
We travelled to Taroudannt, Agdz, Ouarzazate, Zagora and Skoura this time. Morocco has incredible scenery, gorgeous food, when you can get it, and lovely weather but the tourist industry has degraded substantially since I was last there. What I mean by that is everything from accommodation and food has been priced to what one would pay in Europe, without european overheads or standards. Which means an incredibly enormous profit for the hotel and restaurant owners. Is this reflected in what they pay their Moroccan staff? I very much doubt it. I never saw any Europeans working in Morocco because the wages are too low for them, the average Moroccan working in the tourist industry earns 40 Dirhams a day (approx. 3.6 Euro) and they get nothing if there are no guests, in certain establishments one has to say. This profit goes straight to the owner, Moroccan or European. People talk about not getting good service in Morocco sometimes, mayybe this is the reason? Wouldn't we all be resentful if we could not share in enormous profits and saw what prices were being charged for things that cost half nothing?
Not to mention Moroccan goods which can be anything from 5 to 20 times what a local would pay, if they could pay it at all. The attitude seems to be, by both some Moroccans and the many Europeans who own hotels and riads is that if Europeans pay those prices elsewhere they can pay them in Morocco too, whether it represents good value for money or not. Market value does not seem to enter the equation at all.
Because we were outside big cities like Agadir and Marrakech where you can still find very reasonably priced accommodation and food we were constrained to using riads and hotels charging 100 - 150 Euro per night for B&B. More if you wanted it, one place wanted to charge us a whopping 800 Euro a night. Dinner if you wanted it was extra, as were the local tourist taxes which varied enormously from place to place. No regulation by the Moroccan government whatsoever, so you were at the mercy of the owner. Many of the breakfasts were tiny with stale bread, no fruit or yoghurt and none were presented when asked for and bad coffee. I was violently sick after staying at one hotel in Zagora, the Kasbah Asmaa which I would advise anyone to avoid at all possible costs. Is Morocco value for money in 2008? I don't think so, I wouldn't put up with this in Europe so why should we have to put up with it in Morocco? Especially when you consider the huge profits the owners are making. I would advise people to support local well established moroccan hotels because you do not get the luxury or service you want for 100 Euro and upwards in Moroccan riads and kasbahs which are being marketed in a very attractive way but do not deliver on what they say they offer in my experience. Overpriced, bad and expensive food, no hot water, bad service (albeit in some way understandable, considering) etc. etc.
On another note we rented a car and seriously underestimated journey times given the roads, quite well paved but windy and through a lot of mountain passes which are beautiful but a lot more time consuming than one thinks. Be very careful with the car hire companies who will pull all sorts of stunts, no full tank, paying to exit the airport, not marking the 'departure' car with scratches and damages etc. I would advise people to take refundable excess insurance.
We had a lot of hassle, not just from people touting and hassling on the street but hotels trying to sell us tours and being very hostile when we refused. It was so tiring, not to mention unprofessional. Morocco is sabotaging its tourist industry and unless there is some sort of regulation I can see it becoming too expensive and too much of a hassle for people to go there. Unless it is a package deal. It's a pity that a few ruin it because you can find some very nice and kind people but they are not the ones in your face hassling you at every turn. They are the ordinary people not involved in the tourist industry.
Thanks for posting that lady’s comments; I can safely say she is not going back in due course. I have noticed that as well especially in big cites and even the small towns like Ouarzazate where hotels like Berber Palace charges over 1000DH a night to Moroccans after 25 % reduction. God knows what they charge the tourist. Moroccan House Hotel in Marrakech quoted me 800 DH a night after the reduction it’s not a typical 4 star hotel in Europe. The points she made are very relevant, showing this phase Morocco is going throw is not doing any good to the locals. The government as usual, is not taking any notice of what’s happening to the infrastructure. They are welcoming any Dick or Harry to invest in tourism to create jobs and employ the locals at any rate. The country is definitely in need of an organization to monitor the quality of service and perhaps another one for Human rights.
Its a big issue now ! i read bookings are low in 2008 + in agadir we only getting cheap all inclusif package = tourist are not leaving their hotels = shops + restaurants are doing well..........
We seem to copy the Spanish way in tourist & build a large complexes ...our people did not learn from other mistakes ........
We do not have not investing inn Humain Resourses & no one thought of regulating the industry as you said every one can set up & make many ( in Marrakech a lot of Riads do not have authorisations & the ones who do are doing as they wish paying 0 Tax).....Employement well except for kitchen staff ,waiters & drivers we see more & more foreign managers ....
Tourist touts still operate everywhere ,from the moment they put foot in the airport they are hustled ...(try getting a taxi from Marrakech airport ! but no one cares ..) It nice to see posters advertising Morocco everywhere (costing a package ! ) but no follow up ! no ones cares ...how hard is it to have a taxi rank ! & use the 1st taxi in the line ( we could employ a steward = 1 extra job) taxi to use meters (3Km you get asked €20) ,clean car & be curtious & charge extra for the service if need be !
As with most sectors we have people in decision making positions who do not have a clue & do not care ........... A shame on them .....
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