UNESCO, TUI Care Foundation to Foster Sustainable Tourism at Morocco’s Ait Ben Haddou

Marrakech – UNESCO and the TUI Care Foundation signed a new global partnership on May 27 to promote sustainable tourism in and around UNESCO World Heritage destinations. Morocco’s Ksar Aït Ben Haddou is among the first sites to benefit from the initiative.

The partnership responds to growing pressure on heritage destinations worldwide. Increasing visitor numbers create economic opportunities but also strain local communities, cultural traditions, and natural environments.

The collaboration combines local destination projects with a broader international component focused on coordination, knowledge-sharing, and cooperation.

Initial activities will launch in Morocco and Zanzibar.

In Morocco, the initiative targets Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, one of the country’s most iconic cultural landmarks and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The destination attracts large numbers of visitors annually. However, many tourists stop only briefly before continuing to other locations, limiting economic benefits for surrounding communities.

The project aims to change that pattern by encouraging longer stays and strengthening opportunities for local artisans and tourism businesses. It will also develop new cultural tourism experiences rooted in the site’s heritage and traditions.

Specific activities include training for local guides, tourism entrepreneurs, and artisans. The project will also create cultural routes, storytelling tools, and digital interpretation resources to deepen visitor engagement with the site’s living heritage.

Particular focus will go to supporting women and young people in accessing tourism-related economic opportunities linked to local craftsmanship, culture, and hospitality.

Julien Pellaux, Director of Partnerships at UNESCO, described the collaboration as an effort to work with “the private sector to shape tourism more responsibly.”

He noted that the partnership aims to ensure “economic activity supports heritage protection” and translates into “meaningful opportunities for local communities,” while helping define “a more balanced and sustainable model of tourism for present and future generations.”

Alexander Panczuk, Managing Director of the TUI Care Foundation, pointed to cultural heritage visits as “a key reason to travel,” adding that tourism can play “a vital role in preserving unique cultural heritage in destinations around the world.”

He acknowledged, however, that “many communities face increasing pressure to preserve traditions and ensure that tourism benefits local people sustainably.”

Through the UNESCO partnership, the foundation is supporting what Panczuk called “innovative approaches that connect heritage preservation with economic opportunities for local communities,” particularly for young people, women, artists, and artisans.

These projects are proof that tourism can serve as “a force for cultural preservation, community empowerment and sustainable development,” he argued.

The initiative also extends to Zanzibar, where it will support sustainable cultural tourism in and around Stone Town, another UNESCO World Heritage site.

Activities will focus on skills development, creative entrepreneurship, and heritage-based tourism programs. These include Forodhani Culture Nights, Zanzibar Your Creative Markets, and Youth Heritage Ambassadors, alongside traditional expressions such as Taarab music.

Beyond the two destination projects, UNESCO and the TUI Care Foundation will work to strengthen international dialogue on sustainable tourism in World Heritage destinations worldwide.

That effort includes knowledge exchange, strategic events, and communication activities to engage tourism stakeholders, heritage experts, development organizations, and private sector partners.

The TUI Care Foundation is an independent charitable organization founded by TUI, one of the world’s leading tourism businesses, and is based in the Netherlands. UNESCO, headquartered in Paris with 194 Member States, oversees more than 2,000 World Heritage sites under Director-General Khaled El-Enany.