IFTM Daily 2019 Day 2 Edition
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12 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW / ENTRETIEN EXCLUSIF<br />
Michel Durrieu<br />
General Director, Regional Tourism Board,<br />
Nouvelle-Aquitaine<br />
Directeur Général du Comité Régional du<br />
Tourisme de Nouvelle-Aquitaine<br />
Nouvelle-Aquitaine: a great year<br />
Increasing numbers of French and foreign tourists flocked to Nouvelle Aquitaine for their holidays<br />
this summer. We spoke with Michel Durrieu, General Director, Regional Tourism Board of Nouvelle<br />
Aquitaine, and began by asking him to talk about the results for the region in 2018/19.<br />
At the end of this year, tourism in Nouvelle-<br />
Aquitaine will have generated more than<br />
18 billion euros of revenue for 32 million<br />
tourist arrivals. This represents 140,000<br />
jobs for the entire industry, so this is a<br />
record year with + 3% to + 4% increase<br />
in French tourists and + 4% to + 7%<br />
for foreign tourists. A full 95% of travel<br />
professionals are satisfied with the summer<br />
season, and 35% anticipate a significant<br />
increase in their results at the end of the<br />
year, compared to 2018. There is also<br />
an upmarket move in the whole region<br />
with over 85% occupancy rate in 4 and<br />
5 star properties. These good results<br />
can be seen in cities, on the coastline or<br />
inland destinations. Attendance by Spanish<br />
tourists is up 20%, Germans and Belgians<br />
10%, while UK customers are down 8%.<br />
The United States, Russia, China and Japan<br />
are also consolidating their positions.<br />
After Georgia, the spotlight is on Argentina<br />
at the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux. Can you tell<br />
us more about this collaboration?<br />
Temporary exhibitions are always good<br />
tools for promotion. This is the case of the<br />
exhibition "Argentina, lands of contrasts" at<br />
the Cité du Vin and associated events that<br />
attract many tourists from Bordeaux, France<br />
and abroad. A large number come or return<br />
to discover the treasures of the Cité du Vin.<br />
We invite other countries to be part of these<br />
temporary exhibitions which spotlight a<br />
destination every year. In this context, we<br />
work with the World Tourism Organization<br />
to promote the wine tourism offer in France<br />
and around the world. The Bordeaux region<br />
is a strong player in this sector, which is<br />
increasingly popular with tourists.<br />
What are the priority destinations in<br />
Nouvelle-Aquitaine that travel agents can<br />
propose to their customers?<br />
I do not think it is necessary to give priority<br />
to a particular destination because they<br />
are not in direct competition. Tourists are<br />
increasingly used to changing holiday<br />
spots every year. All our destinations<br />
deserve to be better known, and better<br />
sold by travel professionals, and better<br />
recognised by the press and influencers.<br />
The region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, which is<br />
the size of Austria, is a destination in its<br />
own right, the main source of which is the<br />
diversity of its offer and the renown of its<br />
destination brands. It is suitable for both<br />
French and international clients. For distant<br />
markets (Asia, North America), there is a<br />
strong tendency for vacations consisting of<br />
a stay in a European capital followed by<br />
several days spent in Nouvelle-Aquitaine<br />
which becomes the main destination.<br />
Finally, what are your thoughts on <strong>IFTM</strong> Top<br />
Resa?<br />
I regret that French regions are not even<br />
more present in this show. Indeed, even<br />
if it was for many years turned more to<br />
the marketing of foreign destinations with<br />
French travel professionals, it is obvious<br />
that the rise of the French part of the show<br />
allows one to establish direct contacts<br />
with French professionals and foreigners<br />
present. It is in this context that we decided<br />
to expand our presence this year with fifteen<br />
partners, including the Pays Basque which<br />
is in the spotlight. This is also a great<br />
opportunity for us to announce the release<br />
of a Guide dedicated to Terra Aventura,<br />
our successful geocaching “treasure hunt”<br />
application developed by the Regional<br />
Tourism Board of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. More<br />
than 1.5 million players have already been<br />
seduced by this app, which allows tourists<br />
to discover our destinations for free while<br />
having fun<br />
THIS IS A<br />
RECORD YEAR<br />
WITH + 3% TO<br />
+ 4% INCREASE<br />
IN FRENCH<br />
TOURISTS AND<br />
+ 4% TO + 7%<br />
FOR FOREIGN<br />
TOURISTS<br />
<strong>IFTM</strong> <strong>Daily</strong> • Wednesday 2 October <strong>2019</strong><br />
www.iftmdaily.com
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