8 Billion DH to Make Fes the Second Top International Cultural Destination in Morocco
20 December 2013
Read by 1657 persons
Large projects, mobilizing investments of around 8 billion DH, are expected to soon launch in Fes to diversify the city’s tourism offerings and make it the second top international cultural destination in Morocco, after Marrakech.
A total of 29 projects were approved as part of a program contract signed last March. These projects will provide an additional 13,000 hotel beds, allowing Fes to welcome 1.1 million tourists by 2020 and generate tourism revenue of around 11.7 billion DH.
The social impact of these projects is undeniable, with the planned creation of over 45,000 additional jobs, increasing from the current 32,800 to over 78,000 by 2020.
This program contract, a sort of roadmap for tourism development, will capitalize on the exceptional cultural, historical, and civilizational heritage of the city of Fes.
The region’s positioning will now be mainly focused on experiential culture and material heritage, particularly through a program aimed at promoting cultural identity, encouraging spiritual tourism and festivals, and implementing coherent and attractive tourism products.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, the goal is to create a rich and complementary range of entertainment and infrastructure to host major international events and create synergies with sports, wellness, entertainment, and culture sectors.
These projects will be implemented in different prefectures and provinces of the region, including 12 in Fes, 11 in Sefrou, and 4 in Moulay Yacoub, and will target areas such as heritage preservation, entertainment, sports, leisure, and the environment.
This includes the creation of a heritage interpretation center in the Fes medina, an ethnographic museum in Sefrou, the development of a spiritual path, and the restoration of Medersas and Foundouks.
Three major projects are planned: the development of wellness activities in the medina (50 MDH), the redevelopment and improvement of the Moulay Yacoub thermal spa (500 MDH), and the enhancement of the Ain Allah thermal center (44.11 MDH).
The private sector has also committed to creating ecotourism accommodation structures in Boulemane (72.8 MDH), establishing guesthouses (1.3 MDH), refuges (1.2 MDH), and guest houses (1.5 MDH) in the Aouglit-Bouiblane corridor, promoting local products in the Sefrou province (2.5 MDH), and setting up exhibition shops (1.6 MDH) and ecotourism orientation kiosks (1.2 MDH), all in this corridor with great natural and tourism potential.
To support the implementation of this strategy and achieve the arrival targets by 2020, air service will be strengthened to reach 231 weekly frequencies.
Fes’ old medina occupies a prominent place in the implementation of this program given its significant historical and cultural importance.
To further enhance its attractiveness to foreign tourists, the medina has been equipped with a series of directional, informative, and interpretive tourist signage, a major project funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
For the Ministry of Crafts officials, this signage aims primarily to support local tourism activity focused on the cultural segment and to highlight the various facets of the city’s heritage.
In addition to the program contract and tourist circuits, the tourism sector should reap the benefits of the National Crafts Label, designed to promote quality and excellence in this sector.
This project, part of a larger program funded by the MCC, is considered an essential pillar in the efforts to develop the sector’s competitiveness and ensure its productivity’s sustainability.
The timely completion of all these structuring projects is likely to accelerate this sector, which shapes economic activity in Fes and provides livelihoods for thousands of people.
MAP
Lavieeco.com
Published December 19, 2013.
Posted online December 20, 2013.
A total of 29 projects were approved as part of a program contract signed last March. These projects will provide an additional 13,000 hotel beds, allowing Fes to welcome 1.1 million tourists by 2020 and generate tourism revenue of around 11.7 billion DH.
The social impact of these projects is undeniable, with the planned creation of over 45,000 additional jobs, increasing from the current 32,800 to over 78,000 by 2020.
This program contract, a sort of roadmap for tourism development, will capitalize on the exceptional cultural, historical, and civilizational heritage of the city of Fes.
The region’s positioning will now be mainly focused on experiential culture and material heritage, particularly through a program aimed at promoting cultural identity, encouraging spiritual tourism and festivals, and implementing coherent and attractive tourism products.
According to the Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, the goal is to create a rich and complementary range of entertainment and infrastructure to host major international events and create synergies with sports, wellness, entertainment, and culture sectors.
These projects will be implemented in different prefectures and provinces of the region, including 12 in Fes, 11 in Sefrou, and 4 in Moulay Yacoub, and will target areas such as heritage preservation, entertainment, sports, leisure, and the environment.
This includes the creation of a heritage interpretation center in the Fes medina, an ethnographic museum in Sefrou, the development of a spiritual path, and the restoration of Medersas and Foundouks.
Three major projects are planned: the development of wellness activities in the medina (50 MDH), the redevelopment and improvement of the Moulay Yacoub thermal spa (500 MDH), and the enhancement of the Ain Allah thermal center (44.11 MDH).
The private sector has also committed to creating ecotourism accommodation structures in Boulemane (72.8 MDH), establishing guesthouses (1.3 MDH), refuges (1.2 MDH), and guest houses (1.5 MDH) in the Aouglit-Bouiblane corridor, promoting local products in the Sefrou province (2.5 MDH), and setting up exhibition shops (1.6 MDH) and ecotourism orientation kiosks (1.2 MDH), all in this corridor with great natural and tourism potential.
To support the implementation of this strategy and achieve the arrival targets by 2020, air service will be strengthened to reach 231 weekly frequencies.
Fes’ old medina occupies a prominent place in the implementation of this program given its significant historical and cultural importance.
To further enhance its attractiveness to foreign tourists, the medina has been equipped with a series of directional, informative, and interpretive tourist signage, a major project funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
For the Ministry of Crafts officials, this signage aims primarily to support local tourism activity focused on the cultural segment and to highlight the various facets of the city’s heritage.
In addition to the program contract and tourist circuits, the tourism sector should reap the benefits of the National Crafts Label, designed to promote quality and excellence in this sector.
This project, part of a larger program funded by the MCC, is considered an essential pillar in the efforts to develop the sector’s competitiveness and ensure its productivity’s sustainability.
The timely completion of all these structuring projects is likely to accelerate this sector, which shapes economic activity in Fes and provides livelihoods for thousands of people.
MAP
Lavieeco.com
Published December 19, 2013.
Posted online December 20, 2013.
