The number of online hotel searches to Marrakech has almost halved after reports first emerged of a British pensioner being jailed for alleged “homosexual acts”.
Hotel searches to dropped by 46% after the first reports emerged while travel interest to Morocco as a whole has fallen back by 31%, according to hotel comparison website trivago.co.uk.
Although the tourist was jailed in Marrakech last month, the story was first reported via Pink News on Saturday (October 4).
As the news spread throughout the media, campaigners took to Morocco’s official tourism Facebook page to urge potential visitors to avoid the country.
When hotel searches made by UK travellers on Monday and Tuesday were compared to searches made on the same days the previous week, travel interest to Marrakech dropped.
With most stories reported in the media on Monday, this day saw the greatest decline in travel interest. Hotel searches slumped by 52% in Marrakech and 40% to the country as a whole compared to the previous Monday.
Searches were for a hotel stay during the upcoming month. The data is based on UK platform visits from 75 million global monthly users.
A company spokeswoman said: “With campaigners on Morocco’s official tourism Facebook page deeming the country unsafe for British tourists, it seems their plan to boycott the country was initially successful.
“Forty six per cent is a significant decrease rarely seen in popular tourist destinations. For example, following the military coup in Thailand in May 2014, hotel searches decreased by just 26%.”
Although British tourist Ray Cole has now been released after spending 20 days in jail, she said it will be interesting to see if tourists continue to avoid the destination.
“Morocco is a year-round popular choice among UK holidaymakers, while Agadir is a popular winter sun destination. Morocco’s tourism economy would no doubt suffer from a sharp decline in British tourists,” the spokeswoman added.