MOROCCO: Tourism booms at M'hamid El Ghizlane, the last oasis in the far South East of Morocco before the wide Sahara desert

Record ID: 809428

  • Title: MOROCCO: Tourism booms at M'hamid El Ghizlane, the last oasis in the far South East of Morocco before the wide Sahara desert
  • Date: 29th March 2010
  • Summary: WIDE SHOT OF A TRADITIONAL TENT WITH A BAND PLAYING GNAWI MUSIC TOURIST PLAYING THE DRUM WITH TAWFIQ YOUSSOUFI, A VISITOR SITTING NEXT TO HER BAND PLAYING AND NANCY PATTERSON, THE GUEST HOUSE OWNER CLOSE UP OF THE DRUMMER'S HAND AND FACE CLOSE UP OF NANCY PATTERSON CLAPPING
  • Embargoed: 13th April 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Morocco
  • Country: Morocco
  • Topics: Travel / Tourism
  • Reuters ID: LVA2URITWDBW7AIW8XQ0BKAUNZ3C
  • Story Text: Less than 15 years ago, M'hamid El Ghizlane, the last oasis in the far South East of Morocco before the wide Sahara desert, was relying mainly on agriculture but because of drought, its inhabitants were obliged to look for more lucrative activities.
    Many of them sold their land to acquire the necessary equipment to welcome tourists who flock to this part of Morocco to look for something they could not find elsewhere, mainly tranquillity, peace and quiet, away from the stressful environment of the mega cities of the west.
    Today, tourism accounts for more than 80 percent of the economic activity of M'hamid El Ghizlane where the main street is full of bazaars selling local handicrafts, travel agencies and shops offering all sorts of services, from car hire to excursions in the desert for well-off tourists as well as for bargain-seeking backpackers on low budgets.
    Tourists who reach this far corner of Morocco take the opportunity to immerse themselves in the local way of life. Time in M'hamid El Ghizlane has a different value than in the west.
    People live at a very slow pace and are never in a hurry. Even money is not the main purpose in life for the locals. Revenues from tourism are just decent. An excursion organiser earns an average of 25,000 Moroccan dirhams (US$3,001) during tourist seasons that last for only five months (December to April), while a guide could earn up to 300 Moroccan dirhams per day (US$36).
    "Tourism in M'hamid el Ghizlane prospered because there are so many monuments to be visited in this area and also because the beauty of the Sahara and the various activities for tourists such as camel riding, bivouacs and tourism in the desert. M'hamid el Ghizlane is now a very well known tourist destination in Morocco. Every tourist who comes to Morocco and wants to visit the Sahara has to visit M'hamid El Ghizlane, Marrakech and Essaouira," said Abdelkhalek Banalila, a successful local tourism promoter.
    Tourism in M'hamid El Ghizlane is for all purses -- rich travellers are accommodated in five star hotels, driven in luxury 4X4 vehicles and benefit from all the trappings of tourism for VIPs.
    But most of the travellers who come to this oasis are happy to live in small auberges, camping sites or in tents surrounded by sand dunes where they can contemplate the vastness of the desert by day and observe the stars by night. They can also relax under the palm trees, go on a desert excursion by camel or 4X4, take a walking tour of the Kasbahs or have a sand hammam (baths) and traditional massage.
    Nancy Patterson, a British art dealer turned hotel owner in M'hamid El Ghizlane, is looking for guests that are treated more like respected friends than paying customers. She wants to see her visitors enjoy the pleasures of good conversation and sharing of ideas in beautiful natural surroundings.
    Patterson wants to encourage artists as well as musicians from abroad to come to M'hamid El Ghizlane to work with locals and to pursue their interests and activities in the tranquil atmosphere of the desert.
    "I am looking for tourists who really want to come here and bring something of themselves, to come and find something of Morocco, particularly things of music, art, what is here, which is a lot," Patterson said.
    Visitor Tawfiq Youssoufi, a Sufi who lived for many years in Canada and Belgium, found inner peace in this oasis. Like many other tourists who come to M'hamid El Ghizlane, he spends many hours in contemplation and soul searching.
    "It is an area that is traditional. When we talk about tradition, we talk about values. This means there are values and also humanism here. It is a part of the country where people have principles and are very warm and hospitable," he said.
    Every year, M'hamid El Ghizlane welcomes tourists from as far away as Alaska, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Poland as well as from Europe, Canada and the United States.
    But tourists from Arab countries are very hard to find. It could be because most Arab countries have their own desert or just because Saharan tourism is not well promoted in this part of the world.
    Still, Noureddine Bougrab, the chairman of the yearly-organised nomads' festival destined to promote this area, would like to see more Arab visitors.
    "Our ambition is to be more open on the Arab world and its Bedouin culture. We want to share our differences but also celebrate what is common between us," he explained.
    In the past M'hamid El Ghizlane was a stopover far caravans on their way and from Timbuktu. Today, it is still a place where people of different cultures and religions meet in harmony for the mutual benefit of locals and visitors alike.
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