2021 PRESS KIT © Bestjobers After Months of Uncertainty, We’Re Delighted to Be Welcoming Back Travellers
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2021 PRESS KIT © Bestjobers After months of uncertainty, we’re delighted to be welcoming back travellers in search of nature, culture Here, we’re offering holidaymakers a fresh start, a more authentic and action-packed and, of course, gastronomy. road map to explore France away from the Northern crowds. This is your opportunity to uncover France Repeated lockdowns have the country’s hidden treasures, whether awakened in most of us an by gliding along the verdant network of canals, chasing the waves on the crystalline coastline or wending your way along the Normandy awareness of the fragility vast lattice of cycle routes. Get out of your Champagne Paris of our environment and a comfort zone with a spot of ‘forest bathing’ Alsace in the green fold of France’s four new natural Brittany Eastern France Vosges desire to embrace a more regional parks, scale the highest peaks, Massif venture into UNESCO-listed reserves and Atlantic sustainable and responsible Loire Valley unwind in award-winning gardens. Its natural Burgundy Loire Valley approach to tourism. assets aside, France has no shortage of historic and cultural landmarks to discover and rediscover. Countless monuments and Jura flagship museums have taken this enforced 2-3 Mountains time-out to rethink their design or reimagine Auvergne their exhibitions promising a thrilling new Dordogne Valley take and many surprises for first-time and Alps returning visitors alike, all in a Covid-safe Ardèche Bordeaux environment, of course. Meanwhile, a host of new or refurbished attractions, from the Southern French Alps Proust Museum in Normandy and the Cité des Vins et des Climats in Burgundy to the Côte d’Azur Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection Canal Biarritz du Midi and the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris, are now Basque Country Provence back on track to welcome the eager public. Which brings us neatly to France’s calling card: its gastronomy. Foodies will get to Pyrenees Occitanie chomp their merry way around the Hexagon thanks to the launch of a scrumptious gourmet route: the Vélos & Fromages cycle Corsica trail. Get ready to experience a side of France you’ve never seen before. Contents Key figures Tourism in France before Covid-19 Key figures p.5 Sustainable tourism p.6 Highlights 2021 p.8 22 reasons to visit france in 2022 p.40 MILLION We are Rugby: Join the scrum 90 78% at the Rugby World Cup 2023 p.41 INTERNATIONAL TOURIST EUROPEAN ARRIVALS CLIENTS Websites and contacts p.42 Partners’ logos p.43 NUMBER #1 TOURIST DESTINATION WORLDWIDE BILLION €57 439,7 MILLIONS p.10-19 IN REVENUE EUROPEAN Nature OVERNIGHT STAYS Admire its beauty 4-5 Highlights 2021 p.12 The classics 2021 p.16 Interview p.18 Where to stay p.19 A new tourism push across Europe Goals p.20-29 Based on shared ambitions and values Culture Inform and Share simple pleasures reassure Highlights 2021 p.22 The classics 2021 p.26 Interview p.28 Where to stay p.29 Inspire 13 10 regional European tourist target p.29-38 boards markets Encourage people Art de vivre to book Make lasting memories 1 One central Private theme: €10M Highlights 2021 p.32 partners Sustainable budget The classics 2021 p.36 tourism Interview p.38 Where to stay p.39 Sustainable accommodation A total of 191 hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses across the country have been awarded 4/ the EU Ecolabel for environmental excellence to date. A further 644 are members of the Clef Verte (Green Key), the very first international network of environmentally- friendly tourism facilities. Additionally, 40 establishments have been recognised for their Sustainable sustainable credentials by the Green Globe association. No fewer than 280 rentals hold Gîtes Panda status while 320 holiday lets across the country are Ecogîte-certified. tourism © AD04 Teddy Verneuil Must-try produce Experience the wonders 5/ and local specialities of France’s unspoilt forests France isn’t nicknamed the “land of a thousand cheeses” for nothing. Every last corner of the country is brimming with homegrown produce and and nature reserves, Sustainable its art de la table is the envy of the world. From the 10 reasons to to 10 reasons France explore red label and ‘Organic Agriculture’ stamp to the discover its wealth of 6/ gastronomy AOP and AOC appellations, countless designations An increasing number of restaurateurs are ensure the protection and guarantee the origin and historic treasures and now adopting a more sustainable approach traceability of its cheeses, renowned wines and to gastronomy by reducing food miles other gourmet staples. cultural heritage and and waste and serving up locally-sourced, seasonal and authentic fare. In a bid to recognise their efforts, the Michelin Guide delve into its authentic launched a new Sustainable Gastronomy label in 2020, singling out eateries with The rural heartland savoir-faire outstanding environmental practices. France’s rolling countryside, its spellbinding Around 50 restaurants have been awarded 7/ landscapes and slower pace of life have the green-dining accolade to date. always held a near magnetic attraction for tourists in search of authenticity. Thanks to such initiatives as ‘Accueil Paysan’ and ‘Bienvenue à la ferme’, holidaymakers can Protected now get a taste of the simple life, hop on a 6-7 Picture-perfect whistle-stop tour of local farms and meet natural habitats towns and villages the gatekeepers of ancestral traditions and 1/ Since the launch of its very first national park in Isère, the Parc 8/ savoir-faire. de la Bérarde, in 1913, France has embarked on a twin mission The Hexagon’s quaint towns and villages to safeguard and revive its natural habitats and biodiversity are the perfect antidote to mass tourism; a and boost local economies through sustainable tourism. Today, chance to discover picturesque nooks away the country counts 11 national parks spanning 60,000km2, from the madding crowd. The best way to 54 natural regional parks and nine natural marine parks as well start your exploration is by checking out the as 47 ‘Grands Sites’ welcoming around 32 million visitors each various labels and designations signposting Green cities year. France’s historic villages and most France counts some of the most eco- remarkable towns. The ‘Plus Beaux Villages 9/ friendly cities in the world, chief among Tourism Sustainable de France’ association counts 159 member them Nantes, which was voted European UNESCO-listed villages and aims to promote and protect the Green Capital in 2013. Following hot on country’s most enchanting hamlets. A total its heels, Dijon and Grenoble recently of 107 unmissable towns and villages have reached the finals of the 2022 European 2/ savoir-faire been recognised as ‘Plus Beaux Détours de Green Capital Award. While Lyon narrowly France’s wealth of natural wonders is second only to its cultural heritage, France’ thanks to their unique character, host missed out on a place in the shortlist, its history and traditions. No fewer than 23 French celebrations, crafts and of attractions and charming accommodation. commitment to sustainability and green- customs – among them alpinism, Britanny’s Fest-noz dance festival or the Finally, the ‘Petites Cités de Caractère’ label living track record have been recognised perfume-making techniques of Grasse – take pride of place on UNESCO’s champions outstanding rural towns paving time and again over the years. Not only Intangible Cultural Heritage List. the way for sustainable tourism. was Lyon named French Diversity Capital in 2019, it holds the coveted title of European Smart City. Slow tourism 3/ A boon for eco-tourists and lovers of the great outdoors, France is criss-crossed by no fewer than 369 GR (Sentier de Grande Randonnée) hiking trails, including Accessible tourism for all From ‘Destinations pour tous’ to ‘Tourisme & Handicap’, a growing number of nationwide the iconic Chemin de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle and the tour du Mont Blanc campaigns and labels strive to improve accessibility for and cater to the less-able-bodied. No fewer trek. The playground of seasoned cyclists, the Hexagon is also bisected by nine 10/ than 5,536 tourist attractions, hotels and B&Bs across the country are now wheelchair-friendly (out of 15) trans-European cycle routes; chief among them the Vélodyssée, including 337 in Charente-Maritime alone and 205 in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Loire à Vélo and Viarhôna. © G. Deschamps - CRT Occitanie The Bourse Normandy’s first British de Commerce, Paris’s war memorial new contemporary The wait for the new British Normandy Memorial is nearly over. art Mecca Perched on a gently sloping hillside above Gold Beach with commanding views of the D-Day Landing areas, this unique Good news: the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault remembrance site spearheaded by the Normandy Memorial Trust Collection is now officially open to the public. will be unveiled by the end of the year. The first memorial of its kind in the region, it will pay tribute to the 22,442 Commonwealth Housed in the former stock exchange, soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle of painstakingly converted into a state-of-the-art Normandy. Also honoured will be the tens of thousands of French venue by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, Paris’s Highlights Highlights 2021 civilians who lost their lives during the liberation of Normandy’s new flagship museum showcases the extensive towns and villages. The memorial is only phase one of the Trust’s contemporary art collection of businessman major remembrance project. Plans are now well under way to François Pinault. Spread across 7,700m2, including create an interactive education centre charting the Allies’ efforts 3,000m2 of dedicated galleries, the breathtaking to defeat the Nazis, the D-Day preparations and shedding fresh Bourse offers themed displays and monographic light on the key role played not only by the Resistance in France exhibitions featuring some of the finest pieces and the Home Front in Britain but by French civilians too.