Is there an arrival / departure tax in Morocco?

Good news, and a common source of needless worry: there is no special arrival or departure tax that you have to pay in cash at a Moroccan airport. You will not be stopped at immigration on the way in, or at the gate on the way out, and asked to hand over a departure fee — unlike a handful of countries where that still happens. So you do not need to keep dirham aside for an "exit tax," and you should be wary of anyone at the airport suggesting otherwise.

The reason is straightforward: the airport and aviation taxes for Morocco are already included in the price of your flight ticket. When you bought your fare, those charges were bundled into the total, which is why there is nothing extra to settle at the airport itself. This is the normal modern arrangement and it means your airport experience is genuinely just the queues and checks, with no payment desk to find.

The one local charge you will actually encounter is a different thing entirely: a small tourist or city tax, often called the taxe de séjour, charged per person per night by your accommodation. Hotels, riads and guesthouses collect it on behalf of the local authority, and the amount is modest — a few dirham to a couple of euros a night depending on the city and the category of the property. Sometimes it is included in your room rate and sometimes it is added at check-out, frequently asked for in cash, so it is worth having a little local currency for it.

My honest, practical takeaway: do not budget for an airport tax, because there isn’t one to pay there, but do expect the per-night city tax at your hotel and keep some small dirham handy to settle it smoothly. If anyone at the airport asks you for an arrival or departure "tax," treat it with suspicion. As with all fees, the exact city-tax rates can change and vary by municipality, so check with your accommodation when you book if you want the precise figure.