A little less than a year ago, the agency Moselle Attractiveness brought together the major players in tourism to outline the contours of a new territorial strategy. A progress update was organized this Monday, May 6, 2024 in order to provide an initial assessment of the initiative.
Tourism figures in 2023, with 4.4 million commercial nights sold, an increase of 4.3% over one year, encourages optimism. “The Moselle is now well established as a tourist destination,” says Patrick WEITEN, president of the department.
There Moselle is currently the 3rd tourist destination in the Grand Est, behind the Vosges and Alsace. The sector, driven by dynamic sites, such as the Center Parcs Les Trois Forêts in Hattigny, and prestigious locations, such as the Domaine de la Klauss, employs more than 16,000 people in the departement.
“When I spoke of the Moselle as a land of tourism around ten years ago, we smiled but without really believing it. Now, it’s a reality” affirms Patrick WEITEN, who discusses the results of 2023 at our microphone:
On the side of the attendance at tourist sites and leisure sites in Moselle, the indicators are green. They record a total of 4.8 million admissions in 2023, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year. This progression is partly explained by the development of “4 seasons tourism” with activities offered throughout the year, without interruption.
The lantern trail and the Luminescences festival at the Amnéville zoo have been a great success and have even attracted many followers. Sainte-Croix Park, for example, is currently working on developing new winter activities (more information to come soon).
Tourism is reinventing itself
Moselle Attractiveness identifies 3 pillars on which the tourism strategy must be based Moselle. The 1st is the promotion of a green tourism. The 2nd is the highlighting of Moselle know-how and its historical actors like Meisenthal. The 3rd consists of accompanying the memory tourism which attracts individuals from all over the world each year, including many Americans.
“We need an offer in line with what the tourist of 2024 is looking for,” explains Alexandre KEFF, vice-president of Moselle Attractiveness. The agency financially supports local stakeholders by injecting 52 million euros in 90 projects. The objective is to strengthen the tourist offer in the department while creating synergies between stakeholders to offer a “complete experience” to tourists and encourage them to stay for the long term.
We were previously in “fair” tourism. We were doing things without taking into account the return on investment, without taking into account the economic benefits for the territory. This is no longer the case today. With the figures we have, we can truly speak of a tourism industry.
Alexandre KEFF, vice-president of the Moselle Attractiveness agency
With the launch of a box destination Mosellethe establishment of a aggressive marketing strategythrough online advertising and TV spots, and the maintenance of a dense events and cultural program, the department is showing itself to be ambitious.
“We continue to look for new investors to develop the product and improve our achievements,” explains Alexandre KEFF. There Moselle-East is notably identified as a territory where the tourist offer is still insufficient.
