Crafts at the heart of tourist circuits

The tourist circuits integrating crafts in the Medina of Fès were launched on Monday afternoon, with the objective of equipping the multiple sites with a strong cultural and historical charge of the spiritual city of Morocco with appropriate tourist signage. This project, financed by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), focuses on the installation of a series of directional, informative, and interpretive tourist signage panels in the various places located along the tourist circuits. In this sense, 308 panels in total were installed, including 228 for orientation, 70 for heritage interpretation, and 10 for information. The Minister of Crafts, Abdessamad Kayouh, emphasised the importance of this project, stressing that it aims to equip the multiple sites with strong cultural and historical connotations located in the Medina of Fès with appropriate tourist signage allowing visitors a better indication of the tourist circuits, in addition to explanations and descriptions dedicated to the many sites and high places of history, art, and exceptional architecture that the spiritual capital of the Kingdom contains. This signage also aims to support local tourist activity focused mainly on the cultural segment and to highlight on the tourist level the different facets of the city of Fès's heritage, he stressed. The minister added that these circuits, which extend over a route of 21 km, including 5 circuits in the intra-muros Medina of 10.5 km, will contribute to the preservation of the cultural and civilisational identity of the Medina of Fès and to the promotion of craft activities, highlighting the partnership approach adopted by his department with all actors to ensure the success of this project and its sustainability. For his part, the Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, stressed the structuring dimension of this project and its leverage effect for the Medina of Fès, specifying that the enhancement of the cultural product is a pillar of the tourism promotion policy in Morocco. He added that this project, with undeniable socio-economic repercussions on the community of artisans, is part of the efforts aimed at making Morocco a tourist and cultural destination par excellence, and at diversifying the tourist offer in the spirit of the 2020 vision. The resident representative of the MCC in Morocco noted that this project is the illustration of the "solid and secular" friendship between Morocco and the United States, adding that it is part of the major projects financed by this American programme, alongside other projects relating to the promotion of fishing and small agriculture in particular. She added that the successes of the first MCC programme in Morocco, which expires next September, meant that Morocco was eligible to benefit from the second programme currently being finalised. The six tourist circuits integrating crafts are thus entitled: "Crafts", "Monuments and Souks", "Knowledge and Know-how", "Andalusian Palaces and Gardens", "Fès Jdid", and "Walls and Fortifications". These circuits contain more than 2,113 points of sale for craft items or services that will benefit from the economic repercussions of the tourist activity generated by this upgrading operation. Morocco had benefited from the MCC from a donation of 697.5 million dollars aimed at reducing poverty through support for economic growth. The "Crafts and Medina of Fès" project, in which this tourist circuit project is part, benefited from a total funding of 95.5 million dollars, of which 84.7 million dollars allocated to the craft sector, notably to promotion activities, support for production, functional literacy, and vocational training. The launch ceremony of these circuits was marked by the signing of a partnership agreement between several actors who commit to ensuring the maintenance and upkeep of the signage panels, as well as the promotion of these tourist circuits at the national and international level.

Provider / Source : MAP, Le Matin