Moroccan Initiatives to Restore Jewish Heritage Sites and Tourism Promotion

Abstract Book of the 7th International Conference on Tourism Management and Hospitality

Year: 2026

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Moroccan Initiatives to Restore Jewish Heritage Sites and Tourism Promotion

Dr Yaron Salman

ABSTRACT:

Surprisingly, the literature on JHT (Jewish heritage tourism) to Morocco is rather limited, and this paper presents how the Moroccan campaign to restore Jewish heritage and religious sites promotes tourism from Israel of Moroccan Jews. The paper aims to analyze the relationship between Morocco initiatives to restore Jewish heritage sites and Israeli tourists of Moroccan origin (Moroccan Jews), arguing that Moroccan Jewish heritage development project is geared toward promoting tourism of Moroccan Jews since heritage sites are emerging tourist attractions that have significant implications on tourism promotion. Drawing on elite interviews and the theory of heritage tourism, the article findings suggest that in addition to national identity, culture, tradition, and political aspects, the Moroccan campaign to restore Jewish heritage sites also played a major role in promoting tourism of Moroccan Jews from Israel to Morocco. The results also shows that Moroccan initiatives to preserve Jewish heritage sites, promote culture exchanges and religious coexistence creates a more welcoming environment for Israeli tourists, thus contributing to the increase of tourism flow. In the context of Israel-Arab complex relations heritage tourism have great potential to remove barriers and increase a positive engagement.

Keywords: Abraham Accords; Heritage; Jewish Heritage Tourism; Moroccan Jews; Pilgrimage Tourism; Tourism