TRANSPORT
EFFECTS AND IMPACTS
of the different transportation modes: economic, social, territorial, environmental and tourism.
The well-built tourist industry in Morocco is a driver of economic growth and is, after the phosphate industry, and the automotive industry accountable for the third-largest contributor to the country's GDP (approximate 9 percent of the GDP), and employs more than 500,000 people. Morocco is ranked 5th on the world list, in terms of government prioritization of the development of the Travel and Tourist industry (World Economic Forum, 2017) (Jebrane, 2020).
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During the last 18 years, the number of overnight stays in Marrakesh has doubled, going from 3,150,000 to more than 8,000,000 as of August 2019. However, this evolution required the mobilization of a whole of development events at the level of infrastructure and mainly those of transport (Jebrane, 2020).
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Due to the high demand, the Moroccan Government invested in its transport infrastructure development.
Different improvements along these past years
2006
Readjustment of Terminal T1 and T2 at the airport
2007
Construction of Highway A7 Casablanca-Marrakesh
2008
Renovation of Railway Station in Marrakesh city
2008
Second Readjustment of Terminal T2
2016
Construction of terminal T3
2018
Readjustment of railway line Casablanca-Marrakesh (double track)
In the same way, the infrastructures serve to travel around the country, it has also helped the citizens, a sign of improvement in the way they moved around. Indeed, the demand has grown, and the possibilities of business are great. Inside the Medina, there is a huge number of private companies which offer transport services as excursions around Morocco.
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As we have analyzed before, Jemaa El Fna square seems to be the neurological heart of the city. Most taxis and buses are located there. If it could be good to centralize services in the city, the other face is the high activity in this square. The impacts are various. On the one hand, environmentally, the emission of CO2 is high, and this fact is noticed by many travelers (TripAdvisor, 2015). On the other hand, is true that they are concerned because some Alsa electrical buses are available in the city, with 10 buses at the moment but with a view to expanding the fleet (Alsa Marrakech, 2019).
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On the way for sustainable development
Electric bus in Marrakesh. Source: Alsa Marrakech (2019).
The heart of the city
New larger avenues
Jamaa El Fna. Source: Unsplash
Marrakesh. Source: Unsplash
Circulation around the Medina. Source: Videvo, 2020.
Thanks to the Google tool of traffic, looking at Marrakech Map, we will find traffic congestion principally in the great arteries that surround the medina such as Avenue Guemassa, Avenue Mohamed V, Rte d’Ourika, Route des Remparts. Avenue el Gkaoui, Rue lalla Fatima Zahra, Sidi Youssef Ben Ali, etc. But not only outside of the Medina tourists find troubles, even inside, but it is also difficult to walk regularly due to the great number of cars and motorcycles that circulate freely, without priority for the pedestrian or sidewalks. The pedestrian must always walk to the right in the direction he is going, so as not to be run over.
The nightmare of tourists
To know what tourists, think about transport in Marrakesh we have analysed TripAdvisor and Google Reviews with the aim to identify the main impacts and effects in this industry. They have said that is very uncomfortable walking in the Medina, they have been scared, since people circulate freely. Motorcycles, donkeys, bicycles, and motorcycles pass without a care through the streets. Other opinions are due to transport rates, since in many cases, they are scams towards the tourist, raising the price considerately. Also is important to show that much of the means of transport in the city are poorly maintenance and unclean.
Tangled street in Marrakesh. Source: Unsplash.