Functional and spatial changes of souks in Morocco’s imperial cities in the context of tourism development
y | 30 abr 2019
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Publicado en línea: 30 abr 2019
Páginas: 92 - 98
Recibido: 27 jun 2018
Aceptado: 20 dic 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2019-0002
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© 2019 Karolina Kania, Maciej Kałaska, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
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Development phases of Moroccan souks under the influence of tourism
| Phase | Type of transformation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Period | Name | Description |
| I | 1912–1955 | sight sacralisation | • the recognition of the architectural, historical, and aesthetic values of the souks by the colonial authorities in the context of tourism promotion (connecting tourism with the cultural heritage protection policy) |
| • souks become a tourist attraction | |||
| • the transformation of marketplaces into places for occasional meetings between wealthy foreign tourists and locals | |||
| II | 1956–early 1990s | bazardisation | • craftsmanship loses its importance and the business activity profile changes from trade and production to trade alone |
| • the emergence of new commercial outlets in the areas of existing marketplaces and in other places, caused by the development of mass tourism | |||
| • the trade function replaces the housing function in many parts of the medinas (proliferation of bazaars in areas visited by tourists) | |||
| • the formation of commercial relations between tourists and sellers | |||
| spatial dispersion | • the movement of production and repair workshops from the core of the souks to the outskirts of the medinas, away from the tourist routes | ||
| • reorientation of the sales offer in connection with the development of low-budget tourism | |||
| • an increase in the number of low-quality products at low prices, often made outside Morocco | |||
| III | Late 1990s– 2014 | securitisation | • the establishment of the tourist police force, which increases the sense of security among tourists and prevents conflicts between sellers and tourists |
| boutiquisation | • the emergence of stores with exclusive clothing and accessories due to the promotion of luxury tourism (designer shops with a reputation abroad are a must on shopping routes for wealthy tourists) | ||
| aestheticization | • the paving and renovation of shop and workshop frontages, cleaning up of stalls, installation of visual identification signs as part of tourism and social projects | ||
| • making traditional commercial and craft areas become, in the opinion of many tourists, nicer and friendlier | |||