Sustainable water management - perspectives for tourism development in north-eastern Morocco

a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Northeastern Morocco Luxury tourism Economic development Water resources management Sustainable tourism SWOT analysis The objective of this article is to evaluate the regional development risk for the luxury tourism sector in Saidia, northeastern Morocco. The study aims to provide input for tourism-related water management and governance. Based on a thematic literature review from different disciplinary angles key pressures for regional water resources are categorized. The identified key problems and pressures related to the critical regional water situation are contrasted with Moroccan tourism policy strategies which emphasize a sustainable pathway of regional tourism. Further, the state of practical implementation of sustainability principles in the hotel management standards were assessed. The opposing perspectives of science and policy on prospects and problems provide the basis for a destination-specific SWOT analysis to assess and discuss risks and opportunities of current tourism development. Core strategies and related measures are derived to provide impulses for sustainable water management and governance and as a support for concrete policy implementation. VISION 2020, the national tourism strategy of Morocco, anchored in the country's overall development policy, was developed to make Morocco one of the world's top twenty destinations and at the same time to become a role model for sustainable tourism in the Mediterra-nean (Roudies, 2013). As well as at the global level, tourism is a fast-growing industry in Morocco (UNWTO, 2014). The tourism sector has continued to develop favourably, increasingly contributing to Moroccan GDP (direct contribution: 8.6% of GDP in 2013) and employment (direct jobs: 7.6% of total employment in 2013) (WTTC, 2014). Tourism thus has become a very important non-agricultural sector of robust growth, it is expected to continue its positive performance, and it is regarded as an important component of the promoted sectoral diversification of the national economy (UNWTO, 2014; Royaume du Maroc, 2014). Main socioeconomic purposes of this development realignment are the lessening of the dependence on fluctuating agricultural market prices which might become even more volatile under climate change, and the reduction of unemployment and poverty Positive economic effects and an improvement in the return on investment (ROI) by direct and indirect revenues from tourism are expected to result in jobs and increasing incomes. In general, this sectorial transformation is to effectuate an economic catch-up process mainly of structurally weak regions such as the northeastern part of the country (region l'Oriental) with …