Is Moroccan Arabic different from standard Arabic for tourists?

Yes, Moroccan Arabic (Darija) is quite different from Modern Standard Arabic — it’s a distinct spoken dialect with Berber, French and Spanish influences that even other Arabic speakers can find hard to follow, though written signs and formal contexts use Standard Arabic. For tourists, this mostly means the phrases you hear in daily life are Darija.

If you learn a few words, learn Darija ones for greetings and the souk — "salam" (hello), "shukran" (thank you), "la shukran" (no thank you), "bshhal?" (how much?) — rather than textbook Standard Arabic. Locals will understand and appreciate Darija far more in conversation.

Standard Arabic still appears on official signage, in the news and in the Quran, so it isn’t useless, but spoken interaction runs on Darija (and French). Don’t worry about the distinction beyond picking up a few practical Darija phrases.