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The new prices are part of the country’s initiative to facilitate the reception of members of the Moroccan diaspora in line with the 2021 Marhaba Operation.
The Marhaba Operation is a program the Moroccan government organizes annually to welcome Moroccan expatriates for summer vacation in Morocco. The operation was suspended last year due to COVID-19.
For this summer’s Marhaba Operation, maritime companies in Morocco have agreed to reduce price tickets to €995 for a family of four people for long-haul lines, the ministry announced.
Companies also reduced prices to € 450 Euros for medium-haul lines.
According to the ministry’s statement, talks are underway with Portuguese authorities to make the port of Portimao in Portugal a destination of embarkation for MREs. The agreement entails the opening of new maritime lines from the Portuguese port to Morocco’s Tangier Med.
The lines will join those already operational from France and Italy, with an initial capacity of 20,000 passengers and 5,000 vehicles per week.
The Moroccan ministry also announced the mobilization of an additional ship on the marseille-Tanger Med lines and Genoa-Tanger Med, with a capacity of 4,000 passengers and 1,000 vehicles per week.
The total capacity will amount to approximately 48,8000 passengers and more than 15,000 vehicles per week. These arrangements are projected to cover the planned transit phase from June 15 to September 15 with approximately 650,000 passengers and 180,000 vehicles.
Earlier this month, Morocco announced its decision to exclude Spanish ports from the Marhaba Operation. The move came amid a growing spat between Rabat and Madrid due to a series of hostile moves by the Spanish government on the Western Sahara question.
Most recently, Spain’s sheltering of Polisario’s Brahim Ghali incensed Morocco, and Rabat has since acted in ways that suggest the Moroccan government no longer regards Spain as a reliable and trusted strategic partner.
Read Also: Morocco’s National Tourism Confederation Meets to Plan 2021 Operation Marhaba
To make up for the exclusion of Spanish ports from this year’s Marhaba Operation, Morocco’s Ministry of Equipment said that it has intensified collaboration with several transportation companies operating on other Maritimes lines across Europe.
The collaboration seeks to increase the capacity of maritime travel and diversify embarkation destinations for Moroccan travelers.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s decision to diversify cooperation with maritime transportation companies comes in line with King Mohammed VI instructions to all transportation and tourism operators to facilitate MREs’ summer plans in Morocco by charging affordable prices for travel tickets.
