More than 100 criminal groups operate on the Costa del Sol, which has become a hub for international drug trafficking. Its proximity to Morocco, Gibraltar and the port of Algésiras facilitates business, but also settling scores between rival networks.
While Moroccan tourists are increasingly traveling to Spain, Catalonia is following the opposite trend. The region lost Moroccan visitors in 2024, unlike Andalusia and Madrid.
Andalusia remains by far the preferred Spanish destination for Moroccan tourists. Its proximity to Morocco, its beaches and shopping opportunities continue to attract a rapidly growing clientele.
Moroccan tourists are increasingly traveling to Spain. And most importantly, they spend more than the average of foreign visitors.
Southern Spain is facing a violent shift in drug trafficking. While Moroccan hashish still transits through the Strait of Gibraltar, mafias, including the Mocro Maffia , are rethinking their routes under police pressure, plunging Andalusia into a security crisis.
Separated by the Strait of Gibraltar, Moroccan tourists flock to Spain for their vacations. With over one billion euros spent in 2025, this high-purchasing-power clientele is disrupting the Iberian market by targeting luxury and real estate.
The Spanish police dismantled a drug trafficking network in Marbella, seizing more than a ton of cocaine in an underground bunker. The operation led to the arrest of four suspects, including Moroccans, after a shootout in a wooded area.
Agadir is emerging as a cost-effective and sunny alternative to traditional European destinations. The Moroccan resort offers an authentic cultural change of scenery at prices that defy all competition for families.
More and more Moroccans prefer to spend their summer vacations on the Spanish beaches, far from the anarchy of umbrella and chair rentals on Moroccan beaches.
The balance of tourists seems to have been reversed in 2018 between Morocco and Spain. More than 900,000 Moroccan travelers chose the Iberian neighbor for their holidays, while only 800,000 Spaniards set foot on Moroccan soil.