Territorial marketing and territorial competitiveness: the case of the province of Al Hoceima

Abstract

Territorial competitiveness has become a central issue for regional development policies. While the literature has extensively documented the determinants of attractiveness in large metropolitan areas, the articulation between territorial marketing and productive structuring remains largely unexplored in the intermediate territories of the Maghreb, and particularly in the Moroccan provinces engaged in the advanced regionalisation process. This article aims to address this gap by analysing the role of territorial marketing in strengthening the economic competitiveness of the province of Al Hoceima. The study draws on a theoretical framework combining the concepts of territorial capital, territorial governance and strategic territorial marketing. Methodologically, the research relies on a mixed, predominantly qualitative design combining twelve semi-structured interviews conducted with institutional actors and business managers, a structured questionnaire administered to the managers of twelve operational units located in the Aït Kamra and Imzouren industrial zones, representing a coverage rate of 60 % of the units in activity among the twenty-eight units established there, and a documentary analysis of institutional sources. The results show that the province possesses significant territorial capital: geographical position and the availability of human resources are cited by 83.3 % of respondents as the main assets of the territory. However, the economic activation of these resources remains partial. Access to finance is cited as a barrier to investment by all respondents, ahead of the scarcity of skilled labour (83.3 %), taxation (75.0 %) and administrative burden (58.3 %). The analysis leads to a conceptual model incorporating three feedback loops between territorial capital, governance, territorial marketing and competitiveness, together with a set of operational recommendations specifying responsible actors, indicative time horizons and monitoring indicators.

JEL Classification: M31, R11, R58, O18, L52

Paper type: Empirical Research