Casablanca – More than 2.74 million Moroccans living abroad have entered Morocco since the launch of Operation Marhaba 2026, according to the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity.
Speaking on the Radio Tanger Med program Obour, Omar Moussa Abdellah, the foundation’s project manager and supervisor of the operation, said that 2,741,570 Moroccans residing abroad had arrived in the Kingdom as of August 3. That represents a 0.45% increase compared with the same period last year.
Sea travel accounted for the largest share of arrivals. By August 3, 1,430,811 people had entered Morocco by ferry, representing 52.19% of the total. Tangier Med was the busiest port, receiving 512,693 passengers, or 35.89% of all maritime arrivals. It was followed by the ports of Nador with 200,013 passengers and Tangier City with 168,240.
Air travel also remained busy, with 1,310,759 arrivals recorded. Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport ranked first with 333,490 passengers, representing 25.44% of all arrivals by air. Marrakech Menara Airport welcomed 225,086 travelers, followed by Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport with 167,147. Nador and Rabat-Salé airports received 119,487 and 119,452 passengers respectively.
The number of vehicles entering Morocco reached 287,518 by August 3, down 12.43% compared with the same date in 2025. Moussa Abdellah said many Moroccans abroad had chosen to travel together this year because of the higher cost of traveling by car.
He also said all partners involved in the first phase of Operation Marhaba remained mobilized to ensure smooth travel conditions for Moroccans returning to visit their families and spend time in their country of origin.
Jaafar Ameyer, central director of Tangier Med Port, said August 2 marked one of the busiest days of the operation, with a record 31,917 passengers and 8,612 vehicles passing through the port. That was 4% more passengers and 5% more vehicles than on the same day in 2025.
Despite the heavy traffic, he said the average time to leave the port did not exceed 15 minutes thanks to the work of the National Police and Customs services.
He added that an additional fast ferry had been introduced, ticket interchangeability between ferry operators had been activated, and the return phase would use fixed-date and fixed-time tickets to better manage passenger flows.
Travelers were also urged to plan ahead, check that their return tickets include a departure date and time, and stay informed about transit conditions to help reduce waiting times.
