Tourism in Fez is mainly passive (organized tour), mono-product (circuit), and concentrated on two segments (French and national). Morocco has set up this sector as a national economic priority. This article will be limited to the analysis of the relations between cultural tourism and the preservation of the medina of Fes, which is endowed with an architectural, cultural and cultic heritage of great value, as well as rich hinterland full of various natural resources. However, the medina has been undergoing a worrying deterioration, which might distort it, and must face major challenges such as immigration flows, impoverishment, degradation of buildings, environmental decay and so on. In addition, it remains particularly vulnerable to economic conditions and changes. However, its heritage dimension represents an identity and cultural value likely to become, through cultural tourism, an essential vector of development in a context of globalization. How can we take advantage of this richness to give cultural heritage a privileged position in policies and strategies for human development and the struggle against precariousness and poverty? A historical city par excellence, Fez is the subject of study for the analysis of the culture and development paradigm; the aim is to address the challenge facing this city, namely that of combining heritage preservation and tourism promotion. In other words, how can we promote the city while preserving the cultural heritage?