Saturday, October 21, 2006

Mass tourism in Morocco.

Over the last few months several of the writers on The View from Fez have expressed concern over the possible downside of mass tourism. Articles have appeared in newspapers across the world, including the New York Times. Today we have an excerpt and a link to, John Thorne, writing in the Dallas Morning News.

John has added his voice to those concerned about the impacty of mass tourism on Morocco:

TARFAYA, Morocco – In this fishing village on Morocco's southern coast, French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery dreamed of the faraway worlds visited by his immortal character, the Little Prince. Eighty years on, the haphazard cluster of salmon-colored buildings and the crenelated shell of a Spanish fort still ooze charm.


But Shaibata Merebbi Rebbo – a native son, local history buff and contact for the United Nations Development Program – feels the wide world pressing down on his home. He worries that Tarfaya's drowsy sepia-tinted existence risks being obliterated by mass tourism as Morocco's skies open to European budget airlines.


"The rhythm of mass tourism is very quick," he said. "All the things that used to be beautiful will change."

Read the full article here: Dallas Morning News.

Our earlier story: Morocco - the impact of mass tourism

Tags:

No comments: