The French Colonial Tourism Industry in Ifrane, Morocco

In this podcast, Reese Hollister discussed Morocco’s tourism industry under the French Protectorate (1912-1956) by looking at the creation of Ifrane in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Ifrane was a typical example of colonial hill station, a form of urban settlement in Europe’s colonies, high up and away from tropical environments and colonized subjects. This research project uses Ifrane’s rich and well-preserved visual culture to understand the hows of French colonial settlement and imperial promotion. Reese argues that this tourism industry was only made possible by a strong private-public partnership within the French empire.

A 2023 graduate of Manhattan College in The Bronx, Reese Hollister is a young historian who recently completed a Fulbright Student Research Grant in the Kingdom of Morocco. Reese is a lover of the Arabic language, participating in the SALAM Program in Oman to continue learning Modern Standard Arabic and the Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Award to learn Moroccan Darija. As an historian still finding his niche, Reese is now shifting his energies towards studying Morocco and the Maghrib more broadly. He runs the YouTube channel, Historical Method Man, where he shares his undergraduate work that was “sitting in a drawer.” Reese will be commencing graduate studies at North Carolina State University’s Master of International Studies (MIS) program in Fall 2024.

This episode was recorded on May 31, 2024 Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM). 

Recorded and edited by: Abdelbaar Mounadi Idrissi, Outreach Director at the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM).