Kelaat Mgouna hosts an international conference on territorial intelligence and its role in developing rural tourism and enhancing mountains and oases.
The municipality of Asrir in the region of Kelaat Mgouna held a significant international conference on January 22, 2026, under the theme “Territorial Intelligence in the Service of Rural Tourism and the Development of Mountain and Oasis Areas.” This event was part of the Kenka and Ouris Festival, organized in collaboration with the Moroccan Center for Studies and Policy Analysis and the Faculty of Economics and Management in Kelaat Mgouna.
The conference took place in a national and international context characterized by increasing interest in sustainable territorial development, with rural tourism emerging as a genuine lever for local growth, especially in mountainous and oasis regions facing structural challenges related to spatial vulnerability, weak economic integration, and the need for new models of territorial management based on governance, coordination, and territorial intelligence.
The conference began with the recitation of verses from the Quran, followed by the national anthem, after which opening speeches emphasized the strategic importance of the subject and the need to move beyond traditional approaches to managing rural tourism. Innovative strategies that take into account territorial peculiarities were highlighted, as well as the importance of knowledge and information and the interaction between public and private stakeholders and civil society, considering territorial intelligence as a reference framework to improve public policies and achieve spatial equity.
Scientific Sessions and Multiple Perspectives
The first scientific session focused on the conceptual and institutional dimensions of territorial intelligence and its relationship with public management and rural tourism. Discussions emphasized the transition from sectorial management to interactive management and the role of territorial intelligence in enhancing public decision-making and ensuring coherence among development programs, underscoring the centrality of collaboratively building public policies.
The new legal framework for tourism accommodation institutions was also discussed, particularly Law 80.14, and the challenges it presents to local actors in rural areas. The significance of multi-stakeholder partnerships, territorial contracts, and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of rural tourism projects were also highlighted.
Other presentations shed light on the state of rural tourism development in Morocco and experiences in networking and territorial marketing, emphasizing the need to transform territorial intelligence into an organized action that can build a regional brand appreciating the natural and cultural potentials of rural areas. The issue of poor coordination among stakeholders was addressed, despite the strong emergence of territorial marketing concepts with the regulatory laws for local authorities in 2015.
The second scientific session concentrated on the roles of digital marketing, sustainable tourism, and comparative experiences. The importance of digital marketing in enhancing governance and connecting local stakeholders with national and international markets was emphasized, alongside a presentation of Spain’s experience, particularly the Canary Islands, as a successful model that has made rural tourism a lever for sustainable development.
The session also discussed the current state of ecological tourism in the oases of the Kelaat Mgouna region and the environmental challenges it faces, confirming that this tourism model represents a promising alternative if framed within a context that respects ecological and cultural balances. Discussions also addressed sustainable development practices within rural tourism accommodation units and the role of training and technical support in improving service quality.
Recommendations for Smart and Sustainable Territorial Development
The conference concluded with a synthesis report, followed by a rich and interactive discussion that reaffirmed that rural tourism can only fulfill its developmental roles within a smart, participatory, and sustainable territorial vision.
The conference yielded a set of recommendations, notably adopting territorial intelligence as a strategic reference in planning and managing rural tourism, enhancing coordination between local authorities and other stakeholders, and developing a legal framework conducive to rural tourism investment, along with strengthening the capacities of communities in planning, monitoring, and evaluation.
The recommendations also called for the establishment of digital territorial marketing strategies, supporting ecological tourism, encouraging networking among local stakeholders, investing in human resource training, and integrating the local population and cultural and intangible dimensions into the tourism offering, while adopting a gender-sensitive approach and enhancing territorial governance to reduce spatial disparities.
This conference, for which the report was prepared by the Moroccan Center for Studies and Policy Analysis, represented a significant academic stop that repositioned territorial intelligence at the heart of public discussions about the future of rural tourism and the development of mountainous and oasis areas in Morocco.
