“This is not acceptable”: in Penmarc’h, the closure of the tourist office creates controversy

The decision was taken last week during the SPL board of directors

Destination South Bigouden country. The Penmarc’h tourist office will not open its doors as planned in April 2025. It is not the only one in the sector since those of Loctudy, Ile-Tudy and Sainte-Marine (Combrit) will also close. The reason? The establishment of a new organization whose aim is to “rationalize resources and optimize the operations of these tourist offices”. The SPL is based on a trend which has accelerated: offices are less and less frequented, – 11% between 2023 and 2024 out of the seven offices in the South Bigouden Country.

“Visitor habits have evolved”

“Visitor habits have evolved. They prepare their stays remotely, in advance, via new digital tools. We have to adapt to this underlying trend,” explains Gwenaëlle Le Coz, director of the tourist offices of the Destination Pays Bigouden. She adds: “It’s about redefining our missions by reaching out to the public, being at the right time in the right place.” In 2025, the SPL will experiment with a new mobile reception system. A van will circulate around the busiest sites in the area, where the offices have closed. He will be mobilized during important events. Objective: reach a greater number of visitors. All this with constant resources (17 full-time).

“It’s a degradation of public service”

On the Penmarc’h side, we say we are “surprised” by such a decision. “It is a deterioration of the public service, even though the tourist tax is increasing, around €300,000 paid every year (i.e. a third of the overall budget)”, indicates Jean-Paul Stanzel, first deputy of the municipality. A town that triples its population in summer. It’s quite simple, Penmarc’h is home to some of the busiest facilities in the Pays Bigouden. The Eckmühl lighthouse alone attracts 70,000 visitors each year. It is no coincidence that the tourist office, located at the foot of the stone colossus (67 m high) still enjoys good attendance (22,300 requests in 2022).

Penmarc’h is also a nautical center, six campsites and a fishing port. “It is not acceptable to lose the tourist office. Where will tourists go from now on? At the town hall? », insists Jean-Paul Stanzel who confides “thinking (with his team) about a new organization”. Leave the community fold? Not to be excluded according to our information. On the opposition side, things are also coughing. “Can we imagine one day eliminating the tourist office of Locronan or that of the walled city in Concarneau? It doesn’t make sense,” adds Raynald Tanter. The former mayor was president of the community of communes when the SPL was launched in 2016 “in a spirit of cooperation”. Finally, he recalls that Penmarc’h has been classified as a “tourist resort” since 1926.