Brits Sour on Marrakech After Gay Arrest

After Ray Cole was arrested for "homosexuality" in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh and spent 20 days in a jail he described as a "concentration camp," British travelers apparently lost interest in a vacation there.

The hotel site Trivago reports that searches for Marrakesh dropped by 46 percent after news of Cole's arrest broke (he was released on Tuesday and is now back in Britain).

"Forty-sex percent is a significant decrease rarely seen in popular tourist destinations," Trivago spokeswoman Denise Bartlett told TTG Digital.

Interest in visiting Morocco as a whole also dropped, with hotel searches down 31 percent after Cole's arrest became public earlier this month. Morocco, a short flight from the U.K., is a popular vacation destination for many Europeans.