LATEST ECONOMIC BRIEFINGS
EMIRATES: DUBAI | 30.07.2010
Dubai’s capital markets appear to be in for significant change with plans unveiled to establish a second-tier stock exchange coming hot on the heels of Dubai Financial Market (DFM) – the government-administered domestic bourse – and the DIFC-based NASDAQ Dubai’s move to formally link their trading platforms. All of this is happening as speculation of a merger between the bourses of Dubai and Abu Dhabi mounts.
ALGERIE | 30.07.2010
Les efforts importants déployés par l’Algérie pour augmenter la production céréalière commencent à porter leurs fruits, dans la mesure où les récoltes record de l’année dernière et les rendements importants de 2010 aideront à réduire les coûts d’importation et à créer des emplois sûrs dans les zones rurales. Cependant, l’objectif de l’autonomie alimentaire fixé par le pays reste encore bien éloigné.
SENEGAL | 30.07.2010
Le Sénégal est en train de devenir un leader en matière de développement de l’énergie solaire comme énergie de l’avenir, et ce, à la fois à l’échelle nationale et continentale. Pour y parvenir, le pays veut augmenter l’utilisation des énergies renouvelables afin de surmonter ses propres manques et promouvoir un grand programme international ayant pour but de mettre fin à la dépendance de l’Afrique de l’Ouest à l’égard des combustibles fossiles.
BULGARIA | 30.07.2010
Though Bulgaria’s economy is likely to remain in the slow lane for the rest of this year, the country’s banking sector continues to show resilience in the face of global economic contraction. There are concerns, however, that increasing levels of bad loans carried by some lenders could add to pressures on the sector.
OMAN | 28.07.2010
A raft of new agreements recently signed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications will see a significant round of investment in Oman’s transport infrastructure. The 15 agreements, signed earlier in July, cover projects in land, sea and air infrastructure and are worth a total of OR136.9m ($355.9m).
COUNTRY COVERAGE
Rural Reforms
Morocco, Volume 34
01.06.2004
01.06.2004
With tourism such a staple of Morocco's economy in recent years, developing a strategy to maximise returns from this notoriously fickle trade has been given considerable priority by the government in Rabat. In this regard, late May saw a gathering to promote tourism in rural areas that coincided with another state initiative to try and resolve some of the pressing land issues facing many of Morocco's farmers.
At present, Morocco plays host to around 0.1% of the world's "rural" tourists, according to official figures. This includes those who spend their holidays in regions away from the established coastal resorts, or city destinations. Worldwide, the numbers who opt for such vacations are thought to number around 150m, with 50m of those in Europe.
Attracting more of these type of travellers to Morocco is seen by the government as a useful way of boosting rural economies, which, while responsible for a major share of the country's GDP through agriculture, are also the least developed financially. With the government's Vision 2010 tourism plan envisaging some 10m tourists visiting the country in six years' time, boosting the rural tourism infrastructure - and rural tourism's profile - represent major issues for the sector.
Currently, some 53% of all tourists stay in the country's Atlas Mountains region, 33% in the desert areas, 7% in the Rif - principally in and around Chefchaouen - and the remaining 7% are spread across all the other regions.
To try and focus these visitors on particular areas, the government established special tourism development zones known as pays d'accueil touristique (PATs). The first of these, established in Chefchaouen in December 2003, has a budget of around Dh5m, contributed by a range of different ministries and authorities, including the Ministry of Tourism, the Administration of Waters and Forests, the Social Development Agency and the Northern Development Agency.
Five months after the launch of this pilot project, another PAT is being established for the Ifrane region, known as the Middle Atlas PAT. This includes the ancient imperial capital of Fes, has a budget also of around Dh5m and is being presented as a special mountain tourism project.
Presenting this to an assembly of a dozen tour operators 19-23 May, a Ministry of Tourism spokesman said the aim was to "reinforce the attractiveness of this region", L'Economiste reported. The PAT will establish a series of walking tours around the mountainous region, with the idea that this will bring in tourism dollars to the Middle Atlas' more deprived rural communities, as well as cornering a niche market.
The Chefchaouen PAT has the target of bringing in around 5000 tourists a year to visit its region - and the Middle Atlas PAT has similar goals. Yet, as L'Economiste also pointed out, such projects require a great deal of groundwork before they can bring any dependable income into areas where tourism may provide one of the only non-agricultural sources of employment and income. The construction of hotels, camping areas, paths and a myriad of other support services is also required, with some at the May gathering questioning whether the budget was really adequate to the task. In addition, publicising the availability of this vacation option also requires major work, particularly in the European market, which is likely to be the main source of tourists for such holidays.
The initiative also drew attention once again to the plight of Morocco's rural areas. In May, many of the inhabitants of these territories received news of a new draft law from the Governing Council on land usage.
The law concerns land given to some farmers before 1966, when a new agrarian reform law was declared. The ambiguous status of these lands had left their owners with great difficulties in securing funds to develop them, and many had ended up abandoned or otherwise vacant. What to do with this land - estimated at around 20,000 ha nationwide - was the subject of the new regulation.
What the government decided was to distribute this land to people coming forward who have been resident in the areas concerned for at least five years and have qualifications in agricultural development. The new law also permits the owners, if their land is within urban areas, to use the land for purposes other than agriculture - such as construction.
The aim of the new regulation is therefore clearly to try and bring more investment into land, with other provisions encouraging agricultural co-operatives to band together and relaxing government involvement in both them and the sector as a whole. It represents, therefore, another step towards a freeing up of Morocco's agricultural market.
Both the PATs and new land usage regulations are therefore being welcomed by many investors and tourism and agriculture sector insiders. Whether they will do enough to really bring capital into the country's depressed rural areas remains to be seen, but there are plenty with their fingers' crossed.
At present, Morocco plays host to around 0.1% of the world's "rural" tourists, according to official figures. This includes those who spend their holidays in regions away from the established coastal resorts, or city destinations. Worldwide, the numbers who opt for such vacations are thought to number around 150m, with 50m of those in Europe.
Attracting more of these type of travellers to Morocco is seen by the government as a useful way of boosting rural economies, which, while responsible for a major share of the country's GDP through agriculture, are also the least developed financially. With the government's Vision 2010 tourism plan envisaging some 10m tourists visiting the country in six years' time, boosting the rural tourism infrastructure - and rural tourism's profile - represent major issues for the sector.
Currently, some 53% of all tourists stay in the country's Atlas Mountains region, 33% in the desert areas, 7% in the Rif - principally in and around Chefchaouen - and the remaining 7% are spread across all the other regions.
To try and focus these visitors on particular areas, the government established special tourism development zones known as pays d'accueil touristique (PATs). The first of these, established in Chefchaouen in December 2003, has a budget of around Dh5m, contributed by a range of different ministries and authorities, including the Ministry of Tourism, the Administration of Waters and Forests, the Social Development Agency and the Northern Development Agency.
Five months after the launch of this pilot project, another PAT is being established for the Ifrane region, known as the Middle Atlas PAT. This includes the ancient imperial capital of Fes, has a budget also of around Dh5m and is being presented as a special mountain tourism project.
Presenting this to an assembly of a dozen tour operators 19-23 May, a Ministry of Tourism spokesman said the aim was to "reinforce the attractiveness of this region", L'Economiste reported. The PAT will establish a series of walking tours around the mountainous region, with the idea that this will bring in tourism dollars to the Middle Atlas' more deprived rural communities, as well as cornering a niche market.
The Chefchaouen PAT has the target of bringing in around 5000 tourists a year to visit its region - and the Middle Atlas PAT has similar goals. Yet, as L'Economiste also pointed out, such projects require a great deal of groundwork before they can bring any dependable income into areas where tourism may provide one of the only non-agricultural sources of employment and income. The construction of hotels, camping areas, paths and a myriad of other support services is also required, with some at the May gathering questioning whether the budget was really adequate to the task. In addition, publicising the availability of this vacation option also requires major work, particularly in the European market, which is likely to be the main source of tourists for such holidays.
The initiative also drew attention once again to the plight of Morocco's rural areas. In May, many of the inhabitants of these territories received news of a new draft law from the Governing Council on land usage.
The law concerns land given to some farmers before 1966, when a new agrarian reform law was declared. The ambiguous status of these lands had left their owners with great difficulties in securing funds to develop them, and many had ended up abandoned or otherwise vacant. What to do with this land - estimated at around 20,000 ha nationwide - was the subject of the new regulation.
What the government decided was to distribute this land to people coming forward who have been resident in the areas concerned for at least five years and have qualifications in agricultural development. The new law also permits the owners, if their land is within urban areas, to use the land for purposes other than agriculture - such as construction.
The aim of the new regulation is therefore clearly to try and bring more investment into land, with other provisions encouraging agricultural co-operatives to band together and relaxing government involvement in both them and the sector as a whole. It represents, therefore, another step towards a freeing up of Morocco's agricultural market.
Both the PATs and new land usage regulations are therefore being welcomed by many investors and tourism and agriculture sector insiders. Whether they will do enough to really bring capital into the country's depressed rural areas remains to be seen, but there are plenty with their fingers' crossed.
