Article Type : Vision Article
Authors : Ikrame Selkani
Keywords : Slow tourism; Protected areas; Morocco; Toubkal national park
When we speak of slow tourism or slow tourism, we are
referring to an alternative mode of tourism that emerged in the 1990s and is
centred on the discovery of nature and the protection of the environment.
It all began in the
late 1980s when Italians created Slow Food in response to the acceleration of
modern life and junk food. The association now has one hundred thousand members
in 150 countries in the 1990s. The trend is spreading with the formalization
and popularization of the principles of sustainable development - principles
that citizens are increasingly taking on board - the evolution of consumption
patterns, the generalization of environmental concerns and the desire for a
more authentic, more responsible and closer to nature holiday, all of which
combine to make slow tourism a practice with high growth potential. Prizmo
tamo' the expression means traveling slowly. In fact slow tourism is a state of
mind that aims to fight against two excesses of our society: stress and race
against time. It is a concept that invites us to re-appropriate time to travel;
otherwise, of course, it integrates an ecological and the human dimension. Slow
tourists take the time to discover rather than travel thousands of kilometers;
which on the floor; these kilometers they do by bike, horseback or boat often
associated with sustainable green tourism or Slow tourism slow tourism is the
opposite of mass tourism all studies show that it is a deep and global societal
trend. According to an Ipsos survey: "a French polling company and an
international opinion marketing company", eight out of ten Europeans
intend to slow down their pace of life in terms of tourism: 53% of French
people say they want to take their time when they visit a country, a city or a
region and according to the World Tourism Organization, slow tourism has been
increasing between 10 and 20% in recent years. To these figures should be added
the aging of populations, the right to disconnect or the rise of local
consumption, 'locavore': a movement advocating the consumption of food produced
within a radius of between 100 and 250 kilometers from home. A locavore is a
person who adheres to the locavorism that promotes this movement. The latter is
characterized by the limitation of its ecological footprint environmental
education and support for biodiversity conservation programs sustainable
tourism aims to make travelers responsible and aware in order to preserve the
environment. Slow tourism is an economic activity that aims to educate people
by bringing them ecological awareness. It
is to give tourists a unique experience, a direct contact with nature in a safe
and thoughtful way always oriented towards local development.
The high atlas receives
much of this precipitation in the form of snow; the high peaks can be covered
with it for five to six months of the year. The national park of Toubkal, the
first national park created in Morocco offers many possibilities for hiking or
sporting intentions. Created in 1942, the first national park in Morocco is the
National Park of Toubkal extends over the central part of the High Atlas,
between the valley of N'Fiss in the west and that of Ourika in the east. The site is currently very popular with
tourists. With about 40,000 visitors per year, Toubkal National Park remains
the privileged site of mountain tourism in Morocco. The presence of a network
of mule tracks and organized networks of tourist guides (guides, muleteers, and
porters) facilitates the access of visitors to the various points of interest
at the site. The protection of the Mouflon, an emblematic species of which only
a few a hundred individuals remain, is one of the main missions of the park. The
Toubkal National Park Ecomuseum project started in 1999 but officially opened
its doors to the public on 9 July 2012 on the occasion of the international
celebration of cooperatives. As a museum of the Toubkal National Park, it
represents a showcase of this protected area, it allows an interpretation of
the Toubkal National Park and its region, it is also a great tool for
environmental education and communication of the strategy of the High
Commission for Water and Forests and the fight against desertification
concerning the management of protected areas in Morocco.
The priority objective
of the department responsible for the creation of the museum is to encourage
and promote the development of sustainable tourism in Morocco's protected
areas, particularly in the Toubkal National Park. This decision is more than a
choice; it is a real duty for the department. It should be noted that the
development of sustainable tourism in the Toubkal National Park is the only
conceivable solution for further developing the department's strategy on the
territory. Sustainable tourism, beyond the words of a strategy, of a vision, it
is a real approach for better development and real creation of concrete action
in the field in question as well as to offer sustainable tourist products of
quality since Morocco as a country abounds in real environments and spaces for
the evolution of sustainable tourism. Morocco is a territory where sustainable
tourism is starting its way. The idea of
the Eco museum is a real process for a better representation of the Park itself
and the protected areas. The Toubkal National Park Eco museum was offered a
Morocco Sustainable Territory trophy in 2016 by the Moroccan Ministry of
Tourism. The Toubkal National Park Eco museum is the only known Eco museum in
Morocco. To do so, the Park has developed several collaborations with partners,
local associations, cooperatives, and all the actors present on the territory. All
these efforts are helping to achieve better development of sustainable tourism
in Morocco. As a mountain park, the Toubkal National Park stands out for its
original characteristics: powerful relief, landscapes of exceptional beauty and
remarkable biological diversity. Numerous rivers originate in the park area and
provide irrigation in the valleys and plains of the foothills: the Nfiss, the
Rherhaya, the Ourika, and the Souss. It protects the biodiversity and the
beautiful landscapes offered by the highest mountain massifs of all North Africa,
in the middle of which jbel Toubkal or Adrar N'Dern (the mountain of mountains)
culminates at 4.167 m.
The cultural heritage, the picturesque natural
landscapes and the wealth of flora and fauna, as well as the presence of the
Lfni Lake at an altitude of 2,600 m, give Toubkal National Park great slow
tourism potential. The main points or activities sought by visitors to the park
site are: the Toubkal summit, the discovery of High Mountain landscapes, the
Berber mountain culture and sports activities (hiking and climbing).
Slow tourism is an
effective tool for the management of protected areas, and we will cite some of
its advantages:
·
Adapted
strategy to reduce the pressure of tourism on biodiversity.
·
Generates
direct income for the protected area (admission fees).
·
Improves
the relationship between local communities and protected area administrations.
·
Maybe
a better option than other rival economic activities (deforestation,
poaching,).
·
justifies
the existence of protected areas
This responsible
tourism management, which is called slow tourism, has many advantages and
strengths that can help to improve the place where it is practiced in a
responsible way that is among others:
· An
asset for local communities
· Establish
a sustainable income: direct job creation in protected areas, development of
local crafts, restoration...
· Improves
services: the creation of infrastructure (transport, education, health, etc.)
· Cultural
affirmation of the inhabitants through the interest and respect is shown to
them by visitors.
· The
other side of the medal always presents the less brilliant points and here we
refer to the potential threats of slow tourism
· Degradation
of protected areas: too large an influx of tourists, even
"responsible" ones, disrupts ecosystems.
Rising prices local
people have to pay the same price as tourists to access services. Demographic
instability, linked to a massive influx of populations attracted by financial
"mane". In order to avoid these problems, it is necessary to study
all these impacts beforehand and draw up a management plan to minimize them. It
is a relatively complex sector with which protected area staff and communities
need to become familiar in order to form partnerships, the common the
denominator of which between mass tourism and other types of tourism is to:
achieve economic benefits.