Many citizens have denounced the huge rise in prices in the tourist city of Marrakech, and some have taken advantage of the influx of foreign tourists in the city to reap profits in a “disillusioned” way.
Some taxi drivers work in the mood without turning on the meter, because they can ask the customer to pay three times the original price, and moving from hotel to hotel in the city center and in broad daylight can cost around 100 dirhams.
As for car guards in some streets, especially near the Jamaâ El Fna square, their prices have reached 30 dirhams, which arouses resentment among locals and Moroccans who now see how much “traders” prefer to deal with foreigners. .
Mohamed Benmansour, secretary general of the National Federation of Tourist Transport in Morocco, said that citizens have noticed the increase in prices for some means of the transport sector in Marrakech, noting that “this is due to the preference of some taxi drivers for transporting foreigners, in addition to the fact that there are drivers who do not operate the meter”.
“However, with regard to tourist transport, it has maintained a reasonable price level, and the price is determined and announced through a special application, in addition to the fact that the cost of tourist transport is not high compared to other countries “he added.
Professionals in this context complain about the high price of fuel, as pointed out by Benmansour who believes that “despite the subsidy granted by the State for tourist transport, this is still very light compared to the high price of fuel and the increase in the price of fuel, which has cost us about 50%”.
As for the pricing imposed by the car guards next to the Jamaâ El Fna square, this phenomenon has been interfered with on several occasions by the local authority to reduce it, said the same speaker, explaining that the interests of the State and the Traffic Committee have previously set a unified pricing for parking in the garage.
On the other hand, Benmansour noted with regret the low level of tourist promotion in line with the purchasing power of Moroccan customers.
The same interlocutor notes that “ the promotion of tourism requires an effort, because the Moroccan citizen finds that his purchasing power is not in line with the prices practiced in these tourist areas. It should also strive to provide offers that encourage citizens to visit the different tourist areas”.
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