Feature | Branislav Bieleny | Making Waves in Morocco
MUSLIM HOSPITALITY AND FOREIGN SURFERS
Morocco as a nation holds great respect to the unique sport of“ performing on the waves.” They are also quite diplomatic in their behaviour towards foreign surfers – after all, why would they need to behave differently? Surfers bring tourist dollars to their country and whilst Morocco is generally considered one of the more developed African countries with rich fields of phosphates and iron ore, many remote villages in coastal areas rely on“ surf tourism” as the mainstay of the local economy.
Tourism in Morocco caters for more than just backpackers with empty pockets but also provide adventure expeditions targeting rich foreign retirees driving SUVs. The former type of traveller, as we had the opportunity to find out, do not travel as much in comparison to the latter. Rather, these type of tourists prefer to reside permanently where the best waves are and spend most of their dirhams in a single place. Surfing villages that host such travellers have subsequently thrived more in recent years as surfing in Morocco has accelerated with increased popularity and reputation. To chase the waves in Morocco, enthusiasts come not just from Europe. As we sat quietly on our boards waiting for the right wave to come, we noticed the dialects and accents of other tongues – Canadians, Americans, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and even Australians. The most prevalent seemed to be French, slightly more than the Spaniards who arrive in Morocco having taken a short sail with their cars on the boat from Gibraltar to Africa.
Morocco as a whole is a pleasing country for foreigners and sees relatively little religious disturbances.
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ancient Marrakesh boomed as a huge tourist destination. Money poured into the city from foreigners buying up traditional Moroccan houses called riads in the medina- the ancient quarter of the city- and new fountains and parks sprang up around the city centre. Years later, when the Arab Spring swept across much of the Middle East, the ensuing turmoil took a toll on Morocco’ s developing tourism industry as visitor numbers to the country plummeted. Today it would seem that wanderers to Morocco are on their way back to this tremendously colourful part of the world once again. Years of neglect have worn down the ancient cities, however. The authorities have taken note – the city walls have been repaired and much is being done to conserve buildings. Scaffolding surrounded structures everywhere. We found that getting ourselves lost in the medina was where the fun really started.
The Travellist | Issue 3 | July 2015 p11