Within the framework of a series of meetings intended to draw up a report on the development of the province, stakeholders in the tourism sector reviewed the strengths, potential, constraints, and challenges of the sector in the city of Essaouira.

Members of the Provincial Tourism Council in Essaouira (CPTE), local and regional elected officials, and associative actors met last Wednesday at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Services of Essaouira to debate ways to promote the tourism sector in the city of Mogador. Meeting during a round table as part of a series of similar meetings intended to draw up a report on the development of the province to be presented to the Marrakech-Safi Regional Council and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises, the participants reviewed the strengths, potential, constraints, and challenges of the tourism sector in the city of Essaouira.

Hicham Jebbari, President of the Essaouira Municipal Council, indicated in this regard that tourism constituted the locomotive of development in the province, noting the strategic choice to promote this sector alongside others such as maritime fishing and handicrafts. "The Municipal Council allocated, in 2016, approximately 1 million DH to develop the tourism sector in the province", he made known, stressing that the upgrading projects of the city and the Medina will certainly have a positive impact on the promotion of tourism. In this context, he called for valuing the historical heritage of the city and exploiting the enormous tourist potential of Essaouira.

For his part, the provincial delegate for tourism in Essaouira, Mouhssine Chafaï Alaoui, noted that tourism has experienced a boom during the last 5 years, reflected by several indicators. Thus, the reception capacity in classified hotel establishments has gone from 500 to 6,000 beds currently, while hotel units have gone from 50 units to 140 today. Likewise, the province of Essaouira currently occupies the seventh place in terms of tourist overnight stays in Morocco.

The provincial delegate also reviewed the various actions to be undertaken to promote tourism in the province, notably the support of the CPTE, the promotion of the air transport aspect through the opening of lines departing from Germany (2 lines) and Spain (Essaouira-Barcelona), as well as the improvement of the tourist environment.

The other speakers called for developing tourist animation throughout the year and exploiting artistic creation in the city and putting it at the service of the international influence of Essaouira. They also called for tackling the problems of the informal sector and promoting Essaouira in major international tourism fairs, through pavilions that are up to the tourist potential of the province.