The Winning Tourism Is Holistic

Not mass tourism, where you identify an uncontaminated territory, build it up like crazy and then launch a huge advertising campaign to attract groups from all over the globe. That is, the kind that makes money fast, but has a short-term duration, because in general it exploits and consumes. On the contrary, think of tourism that does not require massive investments, which uses or at most converts existing structures, with a minimal impact on the territory but whose benefits are really to the advantage of the local community. Above all, tourism for those who want to escape from their chaotic life and relax in meditation or yoga, tourism that we could define with one word: holistic.  

With a holistic tourism project in a rural area of Morocco, a team from the Master in Economics of Tourism of Bocconi University, directed by Cristina Mottironi, won first place in its category in a student challenge organized by the World Organization of Tourism (UNWTO). Divided by age and subject, the MET Off Beat team, made up of Salvatore Cavallaro, Giorgia Guccione, Francesco Mercurio, Matteo Pinoli and Lucia Tucci, competed with 16 other teams from universities all over the world in the field dedicated to Development tourism of rural destinations.

"The competition started last spring with the first step", explains Sara Bricchi, the teacher tutor who followed the students, "the sending of a video in which the students briefly presented themselves, the MET program, and Bocconi University. Then, in the following months, the bulk of the work took place,  namely the definition of the project dedicated to the development of the rural area of Tabant, in Morocco, an underdeveloped area, in which tourism can become an important resource ".

The challenge was launched by the Moroccan government, whose representatives, especially the local ones, were in constant online contact with the Bocconi team to provide useful information and follow the project step by step. "The work had to follow some guidelines", Sara Bricchi continues, "that is, be sustainable, feasible and in line with the United Nations 2030 agenda. Then, once finished, the work was handed over to the jury.” In July, the first response: the four teams judged to be "best" (in addition MET Bocconi, the University of Glasgow, Bournemouth University and the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management) were called to exhibit their projects live in front of, among others, the UNWTO Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili. "In September, finally the verdict, with the announcement of the winners who will have the opportunity to present the project, either online or in person, during the UNWTO General Assembly to be held in Morocco", says the professor. "It is a source of great satisfaction for the students first of all, but also for the whole MET program". 

“We started by reasoning in the opposite way to what is normally done”, says Salvatore Cavallaro, “which involves massive and invasive investments. We thought of a holistic center for spiritual retreats, where you can escape from the hectic life. This solution is intended for a specific target that wants tailor-made solutions. We also thought,” continues the student, “to create a widespread museum dedicated to the five senses that would use some buildings, such as old granaries, now abandoned and which could thus find new life. We were convinced of the quality of the work done, but winning was above all hope… ”.