A medical congress, scientific meeting or pharmaceutical company meeting in Marrakech is possible, but the location has to be justified before anything else. Under the ABPI Code in the UK and the EFPIA Code across Europe, a company meeting abroad needs a logistical reason, the programme must be what draws delegates, and hospitality is limited to travel, meals, accommodation and registration, with no leisure. On cost, our calculator puts a two-night meeting for 60 delegates in a 4-star hotel, with two days of sessions, AV, two dinners and airport transfers, at €22,176 to €36,432 before flights. If your project fits those rules, our seminar team in Marrakech replies within 48 working hours: send a free quote request with your dates, numbers and delegate profile.
This guide is for medical affairs, events and compliance teams at pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and for learned societies planning an international meeting. It summarises the codes as published on 27 October 2026. It is not legal advice; your compliance function signs off.
First question: is there a valid reason to meet in Marrakech?
The 2024 ABPI Code says that company meetings involving UK health professionals at venues outside the UK “are not necessarily unacceptable”, but there must be “valid and cogent reasons”. Its supplementary information names two: most invitees come from outside the UK and, given where they come from, it makes greater logistical sense to meet elsewhere; or the resource or expertise that is the subject of the meeting is located there. It also asks companies to consider webinars or virtual meetings to avoid travel. The EFPIA Code sets the same two tests in Section 10.02 for any event outside a member company’s home country.
So a UK company flying only UK doctors to Marrakech will struggle to pass. Projects that can work look different: a regional meeting bringing together delegates from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; the international congress of a learned society; or a meeting built around expertise found in Morocco. Under the ABPI Code, meetings involving travel outside the UK must also be certified, and companies need a written policy on events, hospitality and allowable spend. The Code applies even when an affiliate abroad organises the meeting and UK health professionals attend.
What the codes allow, and what they rule out
Hospitality: secondary and proportionate
ABPI Clause 10.1 requires “a clear educational content”, adding that “it should be the programme that attracts delegates to attend and not the associated hospitality or venue”. Food, drink, accommodation and travel must be strictly limited to the main purpose of the meeting and “of secondary consideration”. Hospitality must not exceed what delegates would normally pay for themselves, and companies should offer economy flights only. EFPIA Section 10.07 uses the same benchmark.
The £75 subsistence cap
ABPI Clause 10.8 caps food and drink at £75 per person, excluding VAT and gratuities, and the Code says that maximum is appropriate “only in very exceptional circumstances”; normal spend should be well below it. The Code waives the cap only for meetings in a European country whose national association belongs to EFPIA, where the host country’s limit applies. Morocco is not in Europe, so on a plain reading the £75 limit (or its local equivalent) still applies; your compliance team will confirm.
No entertainment, no partners
Both codes forbid sponsoring or organising entertainment, sporting or leisure activities as part of hospitality. Hospitality cannot extend to an accompanying person unless that person is a delegate in their own right; the only exception is an established health need of the delegate, such as a disability or injury. A spouse may travel, but pays their own way.
Venue
ABPI bans “lavish, extravagant or deluxe venues”; EFPIA Section 10.01 rules out venues “renowned” for their entertainment facilities. In Marrakech, that points to a business hotel with a proper conference centre rather than a resort known for its golf course or spa. Our overview of seminar venues in Marrakech is a starting point.
Paperwork and disclosure
Supporting an individual health professional to attend requires a written agreement listing the categories of cost (ABPI 10.4). No payment may compensate delegates merely for their time (10.2). Sponsorship must be declared on all meeting materials (10.10), and support for UK health professionals’ attendance is disclosed publicly each year (10.11). The ABPI suggests a simple test: would you be happy for these arrangements to be generally known?
If French health professionals attend, French law adds its own rules: a signed agreement, declared or authorised in advance, and publication on the Transparence Santé database. Your French colleagues will know the process.
A compliant two-day programme
Day 1. Staggered arrivals and transfers. Registration and sign-in in the late afternoon, opening session from 5 pm to 7 pm, dinner at the hotel.
Day 2. Plenary in the morning, workshops and case discussions in the afternoon, working lunch on site, simple dinner at or near the hotel with no entertainment.
Day 3. Final session, wrap-up and evaluation, then transfers matched to each flight.
Free time can exist, but nothing in it is organised or paid for by the company. For a multilingual audience, our guide to conference AV and simultaneous interpreting covers booths and sound; for several hundred delegates, see conferences of 300 to 1,000 delegates.
What does a medical meeting in Marrakech cost?
These figures come from the model behind our seminar and team building budget calculator, including a 10% contingency. They exclude flights, alcoholic drinks, tourist tax and organisation fees, and contain no gala, entertainment or leisure activity.
| Format | Included | Total budget | Per delegate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific meeting, 60 delegates, 1 night | 4-star hotel, 1 day of sessions with AV, 1 dinner, airport transfers | €11,286 to €18,612 | €188 to €310 |
| Meeting, 60 delegates, 2 nights | 4-star hotel, 2 days of sessions with AV, 2 dinners, transfers | €22,176 to €36,432 | €370 to €607 |
| Congress, 120 delegates, 2 nights | Same | €43,032 to €70,224 | €359 to €585 |
| Congress, 250 delegates, 2 nights | Same | €89,540 to €146,300 | €358 to €585 |
Accommodation is the largest line: €80 to €130 per single room per night at 4 stars in the model. Dinners are modelled at €25 to €45 per person, which you will want to compare against your subsistence limit once converted. A line-by-line quote makes it easier to fill in the categories of cost in each delegate agreement.
Timeline
Hotels in Marrakech are usually booked three to six months ahead, more in the busy seasons of March to May and September to November. Build your compliance steps into that schedule: justification of the location, certification, written agreements with each supported delegate, and sponsorship wording on every invitation. Our planning timeline covers the logistics side week by week.
What Saphyyr Events does
We handle the logistics: sourcing and booking the hotel and meeting rooms, conference AV, sound, projection, recording and interpreting where needed, catering with dietary requirements, airport transfers and staggered arrivals, and an on-site team from the first day to the last. One team in Paris plans with you, one in Marrakech delivers, in English or French. Certification, agreements and disclosure stay with your compliance team.
Frequently asked questions
Can a UK pharma company hold a meeting for UK doctors in Marrakech?
Only with valid and cogent reasons, such as most invitees coming from outside the UK or the subject matter being located there. A meeting for UK delegates only is hard to justify.
Can partners come along?
At their own expense. Hospitality cannot extend to accompanying persons, except where the delegate has an established health need.
Can we add a desert dinner or an excursion?
Not as company-funded hospitality: both the ABPI and EFPIA codes prohibit organising or sponsoring entertainment and leisure.
How much does a 60-delegate meeting cost?
Our calculator gives €22,176 to €36,432 for two nights in a 4-star hotel with two days of sessions, AV, two dinners and transfers, or €370 to €607 per delegate before flights.
For a congress or scientific meeting in Marrakech, explore our event planning service and our seminars in Marrakech, or ask for a free quote with your delegate numbers, their countries of origin and your dates.