London, 31 July 2025 (SPS) – Under pressure from the Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW), the booking platform Airbnb has been compelled to remove references to Morocco in its listings for accommodations located in occupied Western Sahara.
"The home-sharing company has removed references to 'Morocco' in listings for accommodations in occupied Western Sahara," the NGO announced on its website.
According to this solidarity organization supporting the Sahrawi people, "cities in Western Sahara, such as the capital El Aaiún, Dakhla, and Boujdour, are no longer listed by Airbnb as part of Morocco."
"The update appears to have taken place in recent weeks and was first reported today by the media outlet Africa Intelligence," the NGO added.
WSRW stated that it had written to the company on June 13, 2025, to alert it to geographical errors in its database.
"The website contains serious geographical inaccuracies that do not align with UN maps or the rulings of international courts on the issue of Western Sahara," the letter clarified.
The letter also urged the platform to stop offering accommodations, activities, and attractions in the occupied Sahrawi territories.
The rental of tourist properties in occupied Western Sahara is not a new phenomenon, but it has grown significantly in recent years. Hundreds of listings, offered by major online booking platforms, are located in occupied Sahrawi cities—a tourism boom that WSRW condemns.
"International courts have clearly established that Western Sahara is not part of Morocco, and Airbnb’s website is now more in line with these rulings. We welcome this first step from Airbnb and hope that Hotels.com and Expedia will follow suit," said Erik Hagen, a member of WSRW.
The NGO has also called on U.S. companies Expedia Group Inc. and Booking Holdings Inc. to remove listings for accommodations in occupied Sahrawi cities from their platforms.
"Expedia Group, which presents itself as 'one of the world’s largest travel agencies,' and Booking Holdings, which claims to be 'the world leader in online travel,' are marketing travel and accommodations in Western Sahara, presenting these destinations as being located in 'Morocco,'" WSRW denounced.
For solidarity groups supporting the Sahrawi people, these practices are "a way of legitimizing the occupation" of Western Sahara.
"By promoting these rentals, these companies normalize and encourage the Moroccan occupation" of this territory, which has been on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories since 1963 and was declared "separate" and "distinct" from Morocco by the European Union’s highest court.
Related blogs
