The international conference "The Atlantic initiative for tourism 2015", under the theme "Tourism, a vector for rapprochement between the peoples and civilizations of the two shores of the Atlantic Ocean", will be organised in the Kingdom's capital on 11 and 12 March, the Ministry of Tourism has announced.

Organised under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI by the Ministry of Tourism and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), this conference is "motivated by the emergence of new potential markets on both sides of the Atlantic", the Ministry indicated on its website.

The holding of this event is also motivated by the need to strengthen South-South and North-South cooperation, as well as Morocco's confirmed commitment to the implementation of the resolutions presented at its initiative to the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 and 2012, on "the promotion of ecotourism" as a means capable of reducing inequalities, improving living conditions, and ensuring economic growth for developing countries.

The conference will be marked by three panels addressing "The development of air and maritime transport for the strengthening of tourism exchanges between the two shores of the Atlantic Ocean", "Culture as a factor for tourism development and the rapprochement of peoples", and "The valorisation of fragile ecosystems and biodiversity as a vector for tourism development".

This event will see the participation of several national and international actors in the tourism sector, including 20 ministers and high-level representatives from 45 countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean.