Azilal: When the digital divide kills the territory

But behind the postcard, an invisible wall prevents any evolution: the absence of the Internet.
Here, the connection is a mirage: rare, unstable, and sometimes non-existent.

And this disconnection is not just an annoyance. It is a deprivation of rights. It is a brake on economic development. It is a danger to the safety of residents and tourists. It is a condemnation to invisibility.

Internet? Better not?
Some take comfort in this: “No connection, no excesses.”
They prefer to imagine that the absence of a network protects a fragile rural society against the flow of useless or toxic content.
In a world where many cannot read or write, the Internet is becoming a trap for endless video distractions, and too often pornography... But this reasoning is an illusion.
Digital isolation does not elevate: it imprisons. He does not protect: he gives up.

A sabotaged economy

Every day, in the High Atlas Mountains, tourism players come up against this digital wall.
A reservation cannot be confirmed. To send a quote or to respond to a customer who expects a quick response.
In the event of an accident you have to be very patient to contact emergency services and local authorities.

Visitors are toasting too. Unable to check the weather, plan the next trip, or stay in touch with loved ones.
And above all, frustrated at not being able to share what they are experiencing here, thus depriving the High Atlas of the most powerful window of all: spontaneous recommendations.

Administrative absurdity

An absurd injunction but the ultimate thing is that the administration requires us to make remote declarations for each arrival and departure of a tourist. It is the law. Very good But where is the connection to do that? Most mountain accommodations are not equipped with computers. Managers don't have the tools or the training they need. For many tourism players in rural areas, this administrative requirement sounds like a double penalty.

What cannot be measured does not exist: A region that is absent from radars
At the institutional level, the impact is just as serious. Without reliable data on the number of visitors, attendance and needs, the region is underestimated by decision-makers. Less data means less funding, less infrastructure, fewer projects.
In Azilal, tourism therefore remains invisible in national statistics and invisible in development plans.

What the MOUNTAIN asks for

Residents and local actors are not asking for the moon.
They don't dream of 5G or the metaverse.
They simply require a reliable, stable and accessible connection to be able to work, to be secure and simply to exist.

Morocco likes to promote its digital ambitions. Alright.. But as long as Azilal and so many other rural areas remain disconnected, these ambitions will remain unfulfilled.
The country of the future cannot be built by leaving its mountains in oblivion.

In Azilal, it's not just geography that isolates. The absence of the Internet is locking the region into invisibility and abandonment. When will there be a real policy for Morocco's mountainous areas?