The second edition of the Moroccan Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Day (JMTDR), was held in Rabat on March 20, 2017 under the theme: “Morocco celebrates the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development”.
This second edition brought together more than 300 national and international guests including several members of the government, African ministerial delegations, international organizations, tourism professionals, as well as members of civil society.
During the opening speech of the event, Mr. Aziz AKHANNOUCH, Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, Acting Minister of Tourism, declared “Morocco wants to carry its voice and that of the African Continent as a reference destination in sustainable tourism”.
Mr. Zhu SHANZHONG, Executive Director of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) welcomed Morocco’s involvement – as an official partner – in the program of activities planned for this International Year (IY2017).
An “Agreement between the World Tourism Organization and the Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Morocco for the sponsorship of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development” was signed.
Mrs. Nada Roudies, Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism of Morocco, Mr. Said MOULINE, Director General of the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency (AMEE), Mr. Abderrafie ZOUITEN, Director General of the Moroccan National Tourism Office and Mr. Fouzi ZEMRANI, Vice-President of the National Confederation of Tourism of Morocco, reviewed the achievements of the tourism sector and projected the outlook for 2017.
It was explained that sustainability must be present both in the planning of tourism development and in the operations of tourism investors and actors or in the behavior of tourists and citizens.
During a ministerial panel, Ms. Elcia GRANDCOURT, Director of the Africa program of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Ms. Anastancia NDHLOVU, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe, Mr. Tahirou BARRY, Minister of Culture, Arts, Tourism of Burkina Faso, discussed the contribution of the African continent to the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. Concrete testimonies of projects carried out by tourism professionals, local actors or civil society illustrated the different actions deployed in Africa.
The JMTDR was also intended to be an opportunity to strengthen public-private partnerships in favor of the promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism on the national territory. The Ministry of Tourism has announced the deployment of a large awareness campaign across the entire territory. The objective is to raise awareness among the general public of the notion of sustainability in the tourism sector as well as to make them adhere to the Moroccan Charter of Sustainable Tourism.
On this occasion, the Ministry of Tourism thanked its partners for their involvement and commitment (Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, MASEN, National Railway Office, Moroccan National Tourism Office, Moroccan Society of Tourist Engineering, Royal Air Maroc, the National Tourism Confederation, the National Federation of the Hotel Industry, the Tourism Observatory of Morocco…).
The afternoon was devoted to the presentation of the sustainable travel campaign, produced in collaboration with the Moroccan globe-trotting couple, Amal and Anass Yakine. Launched last December, this operation invites the Moroccan and foreign public to discover the best tourism initiatives committed to promoting sustainable and responsible tourism in Morocco. The capsules retracing the 6 stages of the journey (Chefchaouen, Dakhla, Aoufous, Nkob, Ouarzazate and Marrakech) were screened in plenary and will then be broadcast on social networks in the coming weeks.
Finally, the highlight of the JMTDR was the presentation of the Morocco Sustainable Tourism Trophies in their 7th edition. For this edition, 13 projects were nominated in 5 themes: Environment and Biodiversity, Sustainable Territory, Culture, Tangible and Intangible Heritage, Sustainable Event, Equity and Social Responsibility. The public was also able to vote for a special prize.
source:tourism.gov
