Story & Images
By Michael Kinney
MOROCCO–It’s hard to imagine someone who enjoys their job more than Said Hatouchi.
Some days he wakes up to watch the red sun rising over the vast 3,552,000 square miles of the Sahara Desert with a cup of coffee in his hands. Some nights he can be surrounded by thousands of people roaming around one of the busiest street markets in Africa.
Every day provides Hatouchi a new adventure, which he has turned into not just an occupation, but a calling that has changed the direction of his life.
Hatouchi is the owner and operator of Morocco Daily Tours (moroccodailytours.com/), a travel agency in the North African country of Morocco. The 30-year-old entrepreneur has been showing tourists jaw-dropping landscapes and historical landmarks while creating memories that will last long after they depart the shores of North Africa.
The son of a Berber herdsman, Hatouchi guides tourists on individualized trips. Whether it’s a day trip to the Atlas Mountains or a five-day trek across the Sahara Desert, he introduces visitors from across the globe to not only historical sites but also the region’s food and culture.
“I do tours all around Morocco and I always love meeting people, showing them the beauty of Morocco, taking them to the Sahara Desert. It’s kind of like this feeling that I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s this amazing feeling,” Hatouchi said. “Even with the people, after their visit, they would say, ‘Hey, it is just amazing. What a beautiful country you have. And then of course, seeing how happy they are and everyone recommending you to dear friends, and then coming back.”
It’s an occupation Hatouchi could never have imagined being part of growing up. As a kid, he assumed he was destined to follow his father’s footsteps.
“Growing up in the Sahara Desert as a nomad, even today, we still have people that live in the Sahara Desert as nomads, which is basically people who live in a tent and then they would move from place to place following the water and the green for their animals because they live from those animals that they would have,” Hatouchi said. “So that’s how I lived my childhood. I still remember it growing up. It’s amazing. It’s wonderful, but it’s so hard.”
However, one day Hatouchi’s fortunes changed. His family gave up the nomadic life and moved to a small village in Southeastern Morocco. To make a little extra money, his father was hired to show agency workers and tourists around the Sahara.
“It’s where he grew up, where he knows it well, like his hand,” Hatouchi said. “He would be taking people around. Growing up, I see what he does. It’s kind of like I fall in love with it.”
Hatouchi tagged along with his dad on many of his trips. He was not only hooked on the lifestyle of a guide, but he also saw his way out of the desert. It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up, regardless of how his family felt about it.
“To be honest with you, my father wasn’t happy with me,” Hatouchi said.
Hatouchi started from the ground up and did almost every conceivable job associated with touring the Sahara. That includes being a camel pack leader, a driver, and working at overnight camps.
“I applied to become an official tour guide. And then going through all this and working for many different companies, it just come to my mind why I don’t start something that’s mine,” Hatouchi explained. “Something where I am the one who is controlling instead of working for different people.”
At the time, Hatouchi was taking chemistry courses at a university in Marrakech, but he knew that wasn’t what he wanted for himself. He kept asking himself why he was there doing something he didn’t love.
“When you do things that you really love, things that you enjoy, it doesn’t really feel like work,” Hatouchi said. “So, I just stopped studying chemistry and followed my dreams.”
Hatouchi dove headfirst into learning the ins and outs of the tourism industry in Morocco. He worked for different companies while also acquiring the knowledge he was going to need down the road.
When he thought he was ready, Hatouchi went out on his own and built Morocco Daily Tours. But he admits it wasn’t easy.
On the day he moved to Marrakech, Hatouchi had just 200 dirham ($20) to his name. He couldn’t even afford to get a bottle of juice. But he had a plan and work ethic that allowed him to grow a thriving business, which has allowed him to transform his life.
“I couldn’t even imagine where I am now. I mean, I’m proud of myself, if I can say,” Hatouchi said. “Nothing came easy like that. It’s hard. There is this fear. But you need this fear; otherwise, you will never make a change.”
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