LThe Rochefort Ocean tourist office brought together around 80 of its partners, Monday December 2, in Fouras, so that two worlds get to know each other better, the service providers and the partners. Often isolated, they had the opportunity to discuss their activities. Cohesion is more necessary than ever because tourism is above all a matter of territory, which must be known well if we want to promote it.
As we look back at 2024, the year remains undeniably complicated. The elected representatives, Henri Morin for Fouras, Sébastien Bourbigot for the Rochefort Océan urban community (Caro), did not hide how difficult it had been to manage a disrupted situation. By rainy and windy weather, by unexpected elections, by the Olympic Games which are both good for business but above all Parisian and attract visitors, particularly foreign ones, less seen in the provinces than hoped.
All Saints' Day saves the furniture
This is how, at the national level, we see a decline in French customers, a slight increase in foreign customers (3%), a missed month of July and late season, with the exception of the period of All Saints' Day particularly busy this year. An identical observation for the two Charentes. 46.6 million overnight stays is 2.5% less than last year, minus 7.5% in July, minus 5% in September while August is on the rise (+5%) and the Toussaint touched by grace with + 7.5%.
By filtering the results a little further, we find similar echoes for the Rochefort region. Heavyweights like the Île d'Aix (233,822 visitors), the Île Madame (51,645), the Arsenal (386,257) and the Transbordeur bridge remain sure values and are factors of success. The activities held up the shock: Cigognes en fête, the Twin Sisters festival, the Summer Symphony, Arsenal Mondays and Jazz Wednesdays constitute almost essential landmarks in a season. Who are the visitors to the Rochefort region? At the top of the list, the Belgians, the British, the Germans and the Charentais-Maritimes but also residents of Loire-Atlantique and Gironde.
Many partners were present for this review of the tourist season.
J.-L. R.
Virginie Rivain, director of the Rochefort Océan tourist office, placed great emphasis on the services provided to customers, implying that competition remains strong between regions, departments and sectors. That this requires constantly questioning oneself. “Our office saw its Quality Tourism label renewed this year with a score of 98 out of 100, an exceptional score since there are only four of us to have it this year,” specifies the director.
Hence efforts to be made towards sustainable tourism, business tourism, tourism with your dog also known as “toutourisme” (and this is not a joke), the promotion of the bicycle tourism label or modernization of the computer tool, the elements of which will be discovered in March 2025. It is generally agreed that this season will not be remembered but most professionals will have avoided disaster.
