ITB Berlin News #3

I RESPONSIBLE TOURISM I
Games people play
Sustainable ways to explore France's Nouvelle-Aquitaine:
New app helps boost tourism to the region
The French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine has developed a very
special kind of “treasure hunt” called "Terra Aventura", which
has rapidly won the hearts of many tourists. Michel Durrieu,
General Director, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Tourism Board
tells to ITB Berlin News how this experience turned into a true
success for the entire region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Terra Aventura is a tourism-related
treasure hunt game which is the largest
in the world in terms of participants.
In 2019, we passed the two-million
players' mark. The game stretches all
over the Nouvelle-Aquitaine territory.
THE PURPOSE OF
TERRA AVENTURA
IS TO ATTRACT
TOURISTS
TO VARIOUS
TERRITORIES WHERE
THEY WOULD NOT
HAVE VISITED
WITHOUT THIS
TREASURE HUNT
The app is free and can be downloaded
on mobile phones. Originally, the
game was created to develop tourism
off the beaten track, particularly to
promote upcountry destinations,
away from traditional coast and urban
destinations. It is a great way to be in
touch with our nature and of course
local populations in small communities.
Can you tell us about the way Terra
Aventura is organised? How many
circuits are available?
There are now over 400 itineraries,
which last on average between one
and two hours. In each itinerary,
participants need to find answers to
three to four questions. It is actually a
very fun way to learn about the visited
area with, at the end, participants
collecting a real treasure. On average,
our players will do up to five itineraries.
Is the hunt open to foreign visitors? If
so, how, and who can play?
Terra Aventura is also available for
foreign travellers. The app has been
translated in four languages beside
French. We now have versions in
English, German, Spanish and Dutch.
Families represent the largest number
of participants, approximately 72%.
28% are playing with friends or
individually. In this category, we find a
lot of passionate geocaching players.
Who was involved in developing the
app, and how does it work?
We are owners of the app. We developed
the itinerary in all territories, such
as Basque Land, Bordeaux, Poitiers
and the Futuroscope theme park, La
Rochelle and of course, Limoges, the
cradle of the game. We are glad to see
tourists to enjoy the diversity of our
region and attract people to areas
where they would not have visited
without this treasure hunt. This was the
main objective behind the launching of
Terra Aventura
Michel Durrieu
General Director,
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional
Tourism Board
BRIEFS
2 M
In 2017, Terra Aventura had 280,000
players. With more than 750,000 players in
2018 and two million in 2019, the number
could overpass the three-million mark in
2020 according to Michel Durrieu.
98% SATISFACTION
98 % of the participants declared to be satisfied of their experience
playing Terra Aventura in 2019.
91%
RETURN
RATE
91% of players indicate they will
come back to discover more of
Nouvelle-Aquitaine territories.
68% of participants say to have
taken into account Terra Aventura
for the choice of the destination
and 34% told that the game was
their principal factor of decision.
ITB BERLIN NEWS • THURSDAY 19 TH MARCH 2020 • 15