Context

The Moroccan Society for Tourism Engineering (SMIT), as a driving force in the development of the tourism sector in Morocco, mandated Massir Invest to support the establishment of thematic Impulse Labs “Ocean Waves”, “Beach and Sun” & “Domestic Tourism”, in line with the new Tourism Roadmap. This project relied on an innovative and collaborative approach to co-build regional action plans in order to operationally roll out this Roadmap.

Scope / Methodology

The intervention was structured according to the following methodology:

• Conducting a diagnostic of the tourism value chains covered by the study, by geographical area (clusters): arrivals, overnight stays, accommodation capacity, tourism revenues
• Organising workshops with the relevant public and private stakeholders at local level (walis, elected officials, representatives of professional associations, civil society, etc.) to define the measures needed to develop the “Ocean Waves”, “Beach and Sun” & “Domestic Tourism” tourism value chains. Workshops were thus organised for the Agadir, Tangier-Tetouan, Dakhla, Essaouira, Saïdia and El Jadida clusters, with the participation of more than 150 local stakeholders.
• Co-building with local stakeholders a clear action plan (dates, responsibilities, budget) to roll out the main measures identified and selected during the workshops
• Defining a project pipeline for private investors, to be supported by the State to boost tourism activity across the different clusters
• Drafting the implementation contracts defining the objectives and commitments of each party, as well as the governance and steering arrangements for implementing the action plans

Results / Outputs / Deliverables

• Listing and prioritising the prerequisites required for each value chain and for its priority clusters
• Detailed, costed project sheets and launch plan
• Recommendations regarding implementation governance
• Performance contracts by value chain and regional implementation contracts
• Implementation plans by value chain, by region/cluster, by project typology and by priority

Value for the Client

This assignment provided SMIT with a comprehensive framework to operationalise the strategic vision set out in the Tourism Roadmap, in a territorialised and shared manner. By broadly mobilising public and private stakeholders in the priority clusters, the approach anchored the action plans in local realities, and the deliverables produced constitute concerted and directly operational steering tools. The project pipeline intended for private investors also opens up new prospects for financial leverage to sustainably boost the various seaside value chains over the long term.