La provincia marroquí de Assa Zag se abre al turismo

The largest province of the Guelmin Oued-Noun region, in southern Morocco, and considered the gateway to the Sahara and the Greater Maghreb. Assa Zag is one of the unknown corners of Morocco that never ceases to surprise visitors throughout its nearly 27,000 km of hamada, the rocky desert that covers most of the place.  

During the first week of October, the local authorities, in collaboration with those of the Moroccan central government, organised the first tourism promotion forum in the provincial capital, Assa, to raise international awareness of the region's capabilities, which is trying to position itself with an offer that combines culture, archaeology, adventure and biodiversity. 

The sector, although not unknown, is not yet the subject of real development, lacking in foreign investment and a clear structure or plan on the part of the administrations. The region, inland and landlocked, is sometimes not as accessible or as well known as others, despite all that is hidden in its black stone hills.  

"Above all, tourism in Assa Zag must be built in a sustainable way. It is a very sparsely populated region, almost less than 1 inhabitant per square kilometre. This is essential for structuring tourism here," Mohammed Amal Karrioun, president of Majestic Tours and former president of the Federation of Moroccan Travel Agencies, tells ATALAYAR. This seems to be the intention of the local administration, which understands that the best way to make the most of the region's resources is to take the complete opposite path to mass and all-inclusive tourism. 

"Success will come when they manage to attract large groups or entire families. These are the ones that leave the most money in a region and therefore have the greatest positive impact from an economy of scale point of view," he said. 

Karrioun developed during the Assa forum his proposal for local tourism, based on the study of young Turkish gods in 2018 for the promotion of rural tourism in the Maghreb. "Two out of three tourists who come to Morocco express their desire to visit what lies beyond the big cities like Marrakech, and get to know the rural world. There is something here that we have to take advantage of," said the veteran of Moroccan tourism. His proposal is based on 4 pillars: rural activities, rural life, heritage and environment, all made to have the best possible societal impact. 

The forum was also the occasion to present new veins in the region's resources. Professor Ali Chaab, from the Institut Scientifique de Rabat, took the floor to present the geological heritage of the province of Assa Zag, which can be divided into 10 types. For Chaab, the geological heritage of Assa Zag is more than just a tourist attraction. "It is a legacy from another time. History etched in stone," Chaab summarised. 

"When we want to promote geological heritage, let's immediately think of geoparks," said Ali Chaab, who presented a model adapted from the Chaouen geoparks for Assa Zag, based on local micro-specialisation divided into the different types of geological formations in the province. 

The Tangier International Higher Institute of Tourism also took part in the forum through one of its experts, Professor Abderrazak Ben Ataya, who put on the table several formulas to enhance the Assa Zag brand from a marketing point of view. This valorisation involves giving a great deal of attention to local products. Honey, handicrafts, gum Arabic... "Here there is authenticity and culture in all the dishes. People can taste the country through its cuisine," said Ben Ataya.  

But also to the tourism products of the prow of what should be the tourism project of the province. For Abderrazak Ben Ataya, a partnership with "serious" partners is essential to the success of these objectives. The tourism promotion expert argued that local cooperatives, often in the hands of women, should be those actors who help to move the project forward.  

Laila Oubeinaïssa-Giardina, professor and project coordinator at the University of Montréale in Canada, continued the first part of the forum with a lecture on the transmission of knowledge and heritage. Oubeinaïssa-Giardina, who coordinates a project with the schools of Assa, stressed the importance of transmitting the cultural and heritage value of the land to its inhabitants.  

Oubeinaïssa-Giardina has managed to turn social and tourist practices, such as the image of Hassani women playing hagrour, a traditional Saharan game, into mathematical problems, for example. "These are transformations of heritage in its traditional version into other forms," explained the Quebec professor, with examples of versions of the same games reproduced on social networks.  

The conclusions of the first tourism forum in the province of Assa Zag, in the words of the speakers, is that the region still has a lot of work and effort to do on the part of all social actors to see its tourism flourish. The attraction exists for a different form of tourism and for restless spirits looking for more than just a hotel. Adventure, authentic culture, history and sports are the main points that the administration and private investment will have to exploit in order to achieve economic development with an impact on the region.  

The forum, mainly aimed at Moroccan tourism professionals, coincides with the annual inauguration of the region's most important festival: the Mússem d'Assa. It is a festival, similar to the major festivals in Spain, which revolves around the Zawiya of Assa. The Zawiya is an institution of theological education that has been in the Saharan city for about 700 years. During the days of Mússem, traders, artists and craftsmen gather on the great esplanade of Assa, setting up their tents and offering their wares while camel jockeys compete in races and horsemen practise their Tbourida, the horseback fantasies so particular to Morocco. Mússem concludes on Sunday with the ceremony of slaughtering a camel, the meat of which is shared out among all the participants.