Name of the municipality: Al Hoceima
Population: 56,716 inhabitants (2014)
Area: 3,550 km2
The city of Al Hoceima is located in the north of Morocco, on the Mediterranean coast, bounded to the north and east by the sea, to the south by the Municipality of Ajdir and Ait Youssef Ouli (part of the Beni Ouryaghel tribe), and to the west by the Municipality of Izamouren (which belongs to the Bekioua tribe).
President: Mohamed Boudra
Contact: Mr. Abdennaser Esalhi: municip.alhoceima@yahoo.fr
Main Features:
The Al Hoceima sea also features many islands, such as the tiny islands of Sabadilla and Cala Iris and countless small rocky islets. The island Peñón de Alhucemas (Sfiha beach) has the peculiarity of being under Spanish sovereignty as well as the peninsula of Badés (Penon de Vélez de la Gomera, Badés beach).
Main economic activities:
The maritime sector is considered predominant, since it feeds most of the city’s inhabitants and offers employment opportunities in the export of fish and also serves as a raw material for the food industry.
Commercial activity is considered to be one of the most widespread activities in the city, whether in its traditional form (souks) or modern (chained distribution network). This evolution is linked to the nature of the local economy and the considerable income of immigrants.
The importance of this sector lies in the growing number of commercial establishments and the large number of people working there.
The city of Al Hoceima benefits from advantageous tourist potentialities, given its geographical location and the splendor of its beaches; this has given this sector an exceptional potential status, granted by the state since the 1960s in order to exploit these potentialities and develop it while offering investment opportunities to private operators in this field. The evolution of the tourism industry in the city and the improvement of its services have contributed to local development.
Conditions and environmental challenges:
The environmental issue is considered to be the biggest challenge. The town council is working to ensure a safe environment by improving the collection of household waste and waste resulting from various commercial or handcraft activities. In addition, it is working to accelerate the transfer of weekly markets outside the urban perimeter and to open shopping centers to reduce the phenomenon of street vendors, to create industrial zones for manufacturers and craftsmen, and to create green spaces while preserving existing spaces to achieve environmental balance.