TOURMAG SAYI 17

Congress
"CULTURE IS THE KEY WHICH
OPENS UP MINDS AND HEARTS"
Afterwards, the forum on "Tourism &
Culture, What Relation?.. What Future?"
was held under the moderation of the
Secretary General of AMJET, Mohamed
Laarousi. The keynote speakers of the
forum were the President of National
Museums’ Foundation of Morocco, Mehdi
Qotbi, the Chairman of National Institute
of Archelogy and Patrimony, Abdelouahed
Ben Ncer, and Dr. Amelia Tomasevic from
University of Zagreb. In the beginning of
the forum, Qotbi defined culture as the
key which opens up minds and hearts, and
stressed the significance of protecting
cultures by following words: "Our responsibility
is protecting the richness of what
the history of humankind handed down to
us." Ben Ncer further urged upon that the
tourists must respect local populations
and cultures, and stated that the best way
to understand the history of a visited destination
is to visit archaeological sites.
"WE HAVE TO EDUCATE TOURISTS"
On the other hand, Dr. Tomasevic drew a
striking picture of the dark side of today’s
tourism phenomenon. The participants
watched a short video about how some
of the most visited tourist destinations
around the world suffer by over tourism
and cultural vandalism. The video
consisted of scenes from destinations
such Rome, Venice, Dubrovnik, Taj Mahal,
Stonehenge, the Great Wall of China and
revealed over-crowded attractions where
one can barely walk and irresponsible
tourist examples who adversely affect
cultural and historical values at attraction
sites. Dr. Tomasevic also noted that the
40% of the tourists share in the movement
today are cultural tourists and it is
estimated that this share will raise up to
60% by 2030. She concluded with rec-
ommendations and stated the followings:
"We have to educate tourists, but we
also must educate our own people and
children about how to love and protect
our universal values." In addition, most
of the young journalists from the last
FIJET’s Young Journalists Academy which
was held in Turkey were present at the
conference and contributed to discussions.
Their awareness about cultural
values and tourism phenomenon happily
welcomed by the family of FIJET World…
POPULAR TOURISTIC ATTRACTIONS
OF MARRAKECH VISITED
Within the scope of the FIJET’s 60th
Congress, the groups of journalists also
had the chance to visit popular touristic
attractions in the city of Marrakech, such
as Jardins Majorelle, Berber Museum,
Yves Saint Laurent Museum, Koutoubia
Mosque, Menara Gardens, Ourika Valley
and Palace of Bahia. Moreover, around
100 journalists have continued travelling
towards south of Morocco by post tours
arranged by AMJET.
The museum exhibits more than 600 objects related
to the Berber culture. The Berbers are very colourful
and the most ancient ethnic group indigenous to
North Africa, who still demonstrate the richness and
diversity of their vibrant culture in Morocco.
Ocak / Şubat / Mart | 2019
January / February / March
77