Whilst I understand that you may have worries about Morocco being affected by the threat of terrorism, it is important that you know the following before making up your mind… You may be planning a safer holiday to France, Spain, Greece, Thailand or any number of other ‘so called’ safe destinations BUT you may not have realised that the Foreign Office is warning of equally high risks in all of those countries.
Morocco is at no more risk of terrorism than any other European country today. ISIS terrorist cells are living amongst us here in the UK and in all other European countries. They have struck within Europe only recently in France and a few months ago in Denmark. This is why we feel that it is worth knowing that Morocco is no less safe than any of these other places.
Please read below to see the Foreign offices alerts around Europe and further afield:
Mapped: Where in the world is safe for Britons? From The Telegraph on 1 July 2015. Morocco has no travel warning.
Mapped: Terror threat around the world from The Telegraph on 01 July 2015. The UK is at 'high risk', Morocco is listed as ‘general threat’, less likely than the UK.
The following excerpts are taken from the UK Foreign Office site www.gov.uk on 01 July 2015:
Not going to Morocco is exactly what the terrorists want us to do.
This is exactly what they want holidaymakers to do and this is how they will wreak far greater havoc in these countries than simply by killing tourists.
The consequences for the vast majority of people living in these countries will be extensive and will create such a huge drop in employment within the tourism industry that the their livelihoods will become compromised and therefore they are punished for the madness of these few terrorists.
I do seriously hope that you will consider a Morocco holiday as I am sure that you realise that you are in as much danger of being attacked on holiday in most European countries / cities as you are in Morocco. The reality is that we are actually far bigger a target in Europe than tourists are in Morocco. These people want to hit us where it really hurts and unfortunately, this is going to mean that our own countries will undoubtably be hit in the coming months.
I lived in Morocco for over a decade and have known Morocco for over 30 years, through the terrible times of the two gulf wars when badly informed tourists cancelled holidays to Morocco in fear of something happening there. This despite Morocco being over 3000 miles from the war itself, I feel very strongly that it is not only futile to attempt to avoid one's fate by avoiding Arab countries but is also unsupportive of the people within these countries.
We really need to stand up to these terrorists and show them that we will not be broken by their cowardly actions. For this reason, the foreign office has abstained from warning against travel to these countries as they know now that these attacks have and will be happening in France, Spain, Denmark and many other places over the coming months and years.
I do hope that you will consider a holiday to Morocco. I will be going this Summer for 3 weeks with my wife and children and I hope that I can tempt you to join the ranks of those who refuse to be beaten!
Max Lawrence
Managing Director, Lawrence of Morocco Ltd
Travel writer, Martin Hemming, travelled to Rabat with Lawrence of Morocco in March 2014, writing for the Sunday Times.
We really know Morocco and have had the pleasure of making many people's dream trips become reality over the years. It has been our privilege to be asked to manage holidays, weddings and productions for so many fantastic and discerning clients. We remain small and dedicated to providing excellent honest advice to enable you to sit back, relax and enjoy the fun bits without having to manage the unpredictability of this fascinating country.
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