Creative Tourism and Destinations Resilience, Analysis of The Case of The Creativefriendly Label of The Essaouira

Proceedings of The 3rd International Conference on Tourism Management and Hospitality

Year: 2023

DOI:

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Creative Tourism and Destinations Resilience, Analysis of The Case of The Creativefriendly Label of The Essaouira

Mohamed Boukherouk, Caroline Couret

ABSTRACT: 

Affected by the Covid 19 pandemic crisis, tourism is trying to make up for the shortfalls of more than a year of stopping activity. More than a remedy, creative tourism appears to be an automatic response for destinations in decline or facing a crisis. On the one hand by its ability to respond to a qualified tourist demand for experiences rich in values, and on the other hand by the possibilities it has to generate value from the creative DNA of the destination, by a unique and authentic offer. It also imposes itself by the dynamics it can create in the creative industry and by its multiplier effect. Labeled a creative destination since May 2022, Essaouira has been part of the UNESCO network of creative cities since 2020. At the forefront of new artistic trends, the city is a crossroads of arts and creative professions. Its creative offer is exhaustive: art gallery, workshops of artists and craftsmen, festivals and events, master classes… It reinforces the attractiveness of the destination and participate in the tourist dynamic. As part of the extension of a concept put forward by Greg Richards, this project enriches the work in this area, by analyzing the case of the Essaouira destination. Using a grounded theory approach, the authors, also promoters and coordinators of the labeling project of the Creative Tourism network® (CTN), analyze the process and the stages of labeling, the development model defended by the stakeholders, its benefits for the destination and the actors as well as the challenges they face.

keywords: CTN, Crisis, creative tourism, Essaouira, resilience