In an article on the phenomenon surrounding this small town perched in the heights of Morocco, the Daily Mail, a British publication, notes that some 620,000 posts have been published about Chefchaouen on Instagram and that “there is no sign of slowing down” for the time being.
This is an unparalleled success, but there is a flip side to it. For example, according to the Fodor travel guide quoted in the Daily Mail, “the blue pearl” and its “dazzling blue walls” would be ruined by the selfie takers, who only go there to take a picture of themselves… and post their exploits on Instagram.
The travel guide criticizes these “armies of tourists” who are looking for exactly the same thing, or rather the same pose, to the point of fearing for the city’s future because “the off-the-beaten-track destination has been ruined by the Instagrammers.”
A fact not necessarily shared by the locals, who see this influx of tourists as a blessing.
This is the case of this inhabitant who has transformed his house into a “museum” and charges 5 dirhams for the entrance.
He told Business Insider earlier this year: “All these people come and put pictures of my house on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook to the point where it has now become famous. I’ve been able to fix up my house and have a business because of it,” he added.
In the same article, it is also noted that the residents have even learned English to better serve tourists, and that some have also tried Chinese because of the city’s appeal to tourists from that country.
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