The Taza region is full of various natural qualifications that qualify it to attract seekers of solidarity tourism, whether foreign or Moroccan, but this ambition collides with a reality characterized by weak interest in infrastructure and accommodation institutions, and the absence of a regional tourism delegation that watches over pleading for the advancement of the region’s reality.
The province of Taza, belonging to the Fez-Meknes region, is located in an area extending between the Middle Atlas Mountains and the front of the Rif Mountains. Musa and Saleh”, which was covered with snow for the longest period recorded in Morocco.
These diverse natural qualifications make it possible for the emergence of solidarity tourism that benefits the inhabitants of the mountainous regions in this region, especially since this form of tourism is based on breaking the isolation from the isolated areas in order to allow the development of the local economy and lift the marginalization of its inhabitants, but it is a goal that requires the involvement of various actors. Territory groups, professional and tourism organizations and civil society.
National park and caves
According to the Moroccan Association for Ecotourism and Nature Conservation, the Tazka National Park is the second in Morocco in terms of establishment, as a decree establishing it was issued in 1950 with the aim of preserving the cedar forest, which forms a link between the Rif cedar and the Middle Atlas.
This park initially extended over an area of about 680 hectares, to be expanded to 13,800 hectares, to include a great natural wealth that contributed to the reconfiguration of a number of species that were threatened with extinction, such as the Barbary deer.
The richness of the Tazca forest ecosystems makes it occupy an important place in the network of reserves in Morocco, with more than 500 plant species, representing about 12 percent of the total number of plants in Morocco, according to the same association.
The region also has the “Bab Lota” dam, which is located in the influence of the Al-Sami’a group in a rehabilitated circle, surrounded by a wonderful natural space that has become a haven for the residents of the neighboring soil groups looking for moments of recreation and rest in the midst of nature and accommodation for some residents who provide shelter service.
Taza is considered the undisputed capital of caves and caves, and this type of place attracts tourists of a special nature, lovers of adventure and exploration, from different countries of the world, but it collides with the weakness of the involvement of public authorities from the councils of groups and government sectors in valuing this geological heritage, so that some associations that take the initiative remain in this regard.
Despite these natural qualifications and the historical balance of the city of Taza, this region has not yet obtained the due luck of development. If the city grows as a result of the continuous immigration from neighboring villages, its development projects remain modest and do not live up to the aspirations of its residents and do not keep pace with its growth and expansion.
An important part of achieving development in this region depends on caring for the development of tourism in general, by encouraging investment in this field to provide a sufficient number of shelter institutions and mountain guesthouses and improving tracks to attract lovers of this type of tourism and mountain sports practitioners.
The statements of a number of associative actors in the region confirm that “Taza does not necessarily need industrial zones, but rather it requires will and action to promote a tourism industry that wisely and rationally exploits its natural resources, and to support the creation of small and medium service enterprises in this sector.”
Great qualifications and constant neglect
Driss Belghali, an association activist from the Taza region, said, “The region has great and diverse qualifications, but on the other hand it suffers from neglect, and therefore the region does not know any development at the level of tourism, especially solidarity, in a way that can contribute to local development and raise the income of the population.” “.
Belghali added, in a statement to Hespress, that “the biggest manifestation of this negligence is the absence of delegates for the tourism sector in the Taza region, and this sector does not receive priority at the level of the necessary infrastructure to receive arrivals and visitors.”
Despite the region’s important tourism potential, the city does not have a regional commission for tourism, as it falls within the influence of the regional commission for tourism in Fez, which does not have any projects programmed in the coming years in most of the province’s communes.
The Zararda community, which is one of the territorial communes belonging to the province of Taza, took the initiative last year to write to the regional commission for tourism in Fez to provide technical assistance in preparing its work program, but it received an answer stating that the commissariat does not have any programmed projects on the soil of this commune in the next six years, which is what We tried to get a comment on it from the regional representative of tourism in Fez, but it was not possible despite our repeated attempts.
The valorization of the cultural heritage is also an essential element in advancing the development of tourism in the region, but this aspect is absent from the regionally approved plans, as the associative activist Driss Belgali indicated the absence of projects to valorize regional products, especially in textiles and pottery, not to mention the absence of training opportunities for those wishing to invest. in this sector.
Solidarity tourism is a locomotive
Tourism around the world is witnessing a shift towards the so-called solidarity tourism to make it a locomotive for development in rural areas, which has emerged in several initiatives led by a number of the people of the region through the creation of tourist shelters, such as the guest house located in the Tasra roundabout in the Puebla community, at the initiative of the young man Muhammad Qabibj, and the tourist shelter Auberge Betty, which opened recently in the Boukhaled district in the Zararda community, at the initiative of the young woman, Ibtisam Al-Malali.
Abdullah Boulrabah, head of the Adrar Association for Development and the Environment, said in a statement to Hespress that “such tourism projects are of great importance, as they can contribute to bringing about a developmental take-off in mountainous areas, provided that support and encouragement are provided by collective councils and associations to develop and diversify the tourism offer with routes and activities.” .
The Economic, Social and Environmental Council had previously proposed, in its 2021 report, to pay attention to solidarity tourism, develop youth shelters and encourage demand for them through products that are compatible with the purchasing power of Moroccan tourists.
According to a Moroccan study published in the journal “Repères et Perspectives Economiques” last year, solidarity tourism represents an innovative approach that enhances interactions between local residents and tourists according to an approach aimed at achieving development, as tourists often initiate financing projects in the villages in which they reside, both at the level of Providing drinking water, removing isolation, or building classrooms.
The study emphasized that the success of this tourism requires the state to work on promoting it with special programs, and that begins with defining and organizing this activity and allocating sufficient financial support, and training its workers to be able to meet the requirements of tourists, and the responsibility also falls on civil society to spread the culture of solidarity tourism and raise awareness locally with its challenges and impact.