Last Thursday, Ouest Aveyron Tourisme invited tourism stakeholders from throughout the region for an evening, organized this year in Villeneuve.
About a hundred people responded to the call. A visit to the “Galerie Jean-Marie Périer” was first proposed. The participants then met at the village hall, welcomed by local elected officials.
The usual thanks given, a review of the past season was presented. The results are encouraging. The amount collected from the tourist tax was able to increase by 40%. The good results of the activities proposed and the dynamics linked to the entrances to the visiting places are noted. The use of the website testifies to this dynamism since we have recorded nearly 19,200 visitors, a number multiplied by 2, over the past two years.
Strengthen attractiveness
The various distinctions, “Bastides”, “Grand Site d'Occitanie”, “Most beautiful villages in France” “Small city of character”, reinforce this attractiveness with in particular the new labels granted to Sainte-Croix and Villeneuve.
As for tourism providers, on average nearly two-thirds estimate that their level of activity from April to September 2024 is higher or equivalent to 2023 and say they are satisfied with the attendance at their structure over this period. The Easter holidays, the May holidays, the months of June and August were the most satisfactory for tourism providers, while July was below their expectations and September was mixed. The SPL therefore records 950,000 overnight stays.
1 in 10 jobs in the region
The economic impact of tourism activity is major since it would provide nearly 1 in 10 jobs for our territory, thus allowing 5,100 inhabitants to make a living thanks to these jobs.
Across all tourist offices, 46,830 visitors were recorded as of September 30. In Villeneuve, we note a good dynamic of attendance, the pooling with the Galerie Jean-Marie Périer contributes to this attractiveness and visitors appreciate finding information or tourist advice on site.
The last works in May caused the closure of the premises for a few days, but the new organization improves the visibility of the premises.
The priority is of course to continue this momentum. Actions should again be taken to support hosts, the communication work confirmed. Some indiscretions have been revealed concerning the future tourist office in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a place which should be a showcase of the royal bastide but also of the entire territory.
Once the assessment was made, everyone's interventions were listened to, the participants were then able to share a friendly moment, it was an opportunity to discuss and collectively envisage the next season.
