Rural tourism in the province of Azilal, what socio-economic impacts for territorial development?[Le tourisme rural dans la province d'Azilal, quels impacts socioéconomiques pour un développement territorial ?]

Tourism is considered as a sector of activity with a strong contribution to territorial development. The OMT, for example, consider it as the engine of socio-economic growth, by acting on poverty reduction and working for job creation, has chosen which has enabled it to acquire international status, as a development tool, which contributes to improving living conditions at the local level. Rurality in Morocco as in the world experiencing a strong dependence on the agricultural sector, which presents fluctuating productions, due to the succession of years of drought in these countries, has confronted the populations of rural areas with major problems, such as unemployment, poverty and exodus. The issue of possible development strategies in rural territories then began to emerge, emphasizing the importance of diversifying the economy of these rural territories, in order to compensate for the low yield of agriculture, by focusing towards other sectors of activity such as tourism, especially for territories with potential for the development of the sector. The development of a tourist activity in rural areas could therefore constitute a contributing factor to sustainable local development within rural Moroccan territories. In order to assess the socio-economic impact of this activity on rural territorial development, this article is based on an empirical study mobilizing a mixed approach, relying on a quantitative approach through the exploitation of the figures collected based on documentary research and a qualitative approach mobilizing the socio-economic indicators of rural territorial development, relating to rural tourist activity, which are employment, income and tourist supply and demand. These indicators were evaluated from the answers collected from the interviews held with the local tourism stakeholders interviewed, as part of a field study carried out at the level of a Moroccan rural territory which is the province of AZILAL. The results of this empirical study revealed that rural tourism has marked its role as a lever for territorial development in poor areas, which have a natural and cultural heritage favorable to the development of a tourist activity.