A charter of Moroccan tourist cities was signed, on 14 December in Marrakech, on the sidelines of the work of the fourth World Summit on Urban Tourism.
Initialled by the Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, the Minister Delegate to the Interior, Cherki Draiss, and the mayors and presidents of the communal councils of some 58 cities, this charter proposes to federate the efforts of the various stakeholders with a view to promoting the influence of tourist cities through local public actions relating as much to the development of the tourist product as to the promotion and enhancement of the territory and its material and immaterial potential.
The said charter is intended to be a coherent framework capable of establishing Moroccan cities as true tourist destinations through, among other things, raising the awareness of local officials to the importance of tourism as a mechanism for influence and a true socio-economic issue and coordination between the various stakeholders around the opportunity for the development of urban tourism.
The tourist city, as defined by the charter, must necessarily have natural, seaside, historical, cultural attractions or any other tourist asset forming an integral part of the material heritage, at least one classified tourist accommodation establishment, cultural attractions or others falling under the immaterial heritage and a connection to the road, rail, port and airport transport network. By virtue of the charter, local elected officials undertake notably to enhance their cities and to adopt adapted tourism promotion strategies in partnership with the Moroccan National Tourism Office with a view to developing a brand image specific to the city's identity and to boost international visibility in coherence with Vision 2020.
The signatory cities are also called upon to design local action plans intended to improve the welcome and quality of stay of visitors and oriented notably towards cleanliness, hygiene, entertainment, promotion, the creation of accessible digital spaces and the enhancement of material and immaterial heritage. In the interest of encouraging cities wishing to fully register in this approach and to reward their quality efforts, the charter intends to set up a reward system relating to the granting each year of labels and excellence awards to cities that have contributed to the influence of tourist activity in their territories by making the concept "Clean, welcoming, lively, intelligent and sustainable city" their credo.
