ITB Berlin News 2019 - Day 1 Edition

24 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
ADVERTORIAL
France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine
targets global leading role
in sustainable tourism
Exclusive Interview – Michel Durrieu, General Director,
Regional Tourism Board, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Michel Durrieu
General Director, Regional Tourism Board,
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
WE ARE
SEEING A
VERY STRONG
PROGRESSION
IN THE
NUMBER OF
US VISITORS,
UP 23% LAST
YEAR.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the most popular internal destination
for French tourists and is constantly growing on the list
for foreign visitors. We asked Michel Durrieu, the region’s
Director General of Tourism Board how the region has
been evolving in this sense.
The most important points
of evolution include the fact
that Nouvelle-Aquitaine now
receives over 28 million tourists,
including 24.5 million French
tourists. The proportion of French
tourists has slightly progressed,
while the number of foreign
visitors is showing very strong
growth. Certain destinations in
Nouvelle-Aquitaine have seen
between 20% and 25% growth
in foreign visitors over the past
year.
Which are the most important
source markets?
We have seen very strong growth
in visitor numbers from Spain,
but also a very strong growth in
what are considered very mature
markets – the UK and Germany.
There is a double impact from this
– the return of a certain clientele
who come back to “rediscover”
places they’d previously visited,
because the offer has evolved.
But they are also discovering
internal destinations they
didn’t know before. That’s the
internal tourism. We are seeing
the arrival of an increasing
number of German visitors in
the Dordogne Valley, in Lascaux
for example, where the German
market has taken the number
one position, whereas it used to
be in third or fourth position. So,
there are some strong trends. In
the past, people would come to
Nouvelle-Aquitaine for a long
break, and not move around
too much. Today, we have noted
a strong trend for tourists to
travel more and more around
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and globally
they are capable of taking road
trips of one or two hours from
where they are based, and when
you look at the region, a lot can
be done in the space of a couple
of hours. For example, Bordeaux
is just an hour and a half from
Cognac, which is two hours
from La Rochelle - Île de Ré,
which is next to Lascaux, next
to Biarritz. The foreign tourists
are beginning to come to grips
with the fact that all these major
destinations are very close to
one another.
What about source markets
from further afield?
We are seeing a very strong
progression in the number of
US visitors, up 23% last year.
We realise that an increase in
capacity in flights from the USA
to France has played a role. To
this, one can add the fact that
it is much easier for American
visitors to come here from Paris
using the TGV. The Americans
love visiting Bordeaux, Cognac,
Rochefort – with the replica
of the Hermione – Lafayette’s
frigate, which took part in the
independence celebrations in the
USA. The growth in US visitors is
in fact accelerating. Then there’s
the Canadians, whose rise in
tourist numbers is linked to the
new direct flights and increase
in flight frequencies between
Montreal and Bordeaux. We
are also seeing a major return
in Japanese visitors. There had
been a drop in numbers in the
past years, but numbers are
now higher than they were at
their previous peak. The Chinese
market is evolving as well.
They used to come solely to
Bordeaux, but now they are also
coming to visit the Dordogne,
and to the Arcachon basin.
Previously, Chinese visitors
would almost always travel in
groups. Now there are more
and more individual travellers.
This is particularly the case
when visiting and staying in the
Bordeaux vineyards.
Bordeaux airport is seeing a lot
of new activity. This must be an
important factor in your region’s
success…
Indeed, but one must not
forget we have a total of eight
international airports in Nouvelle-
Aquitaine. The air connectivity
of the region, coupled with the
TGV connection from Paris and
other European capitals allows
rapid connections to the region.
There’s a huge number of flights
from all around Europe, and
low-cost airlines are reinforcing
their position in the region – and
of course at Bordeaux airport –
which has been experiencing
strong growth over the past
few years, with Easyjet and
Ryanair bolstering their bases
in Bordeaux. So, yes, Bordeaux
airport is an important lever
for the entire territory. This
ITB BERLIN NEWS • Wednesday 6 th March 2019
www.itb-berlin-news.com