Central Region: Tourists are castle “addicts”

The 2010 study

The visitor study was carried out by the 4V consultancy on behalf of the Val de Loire central region tourist board (CRT Centre-Val de Loire), in partnership with the departmental tourist board (CDT) and 237 professionals who distributed and promoted the self-administered questionnaire given to visitors. 

The large number of stakeholders enabled 12,000 questionnaires to be collected, (an excellent 10% rate of return) yielding an abnormally large database enabling the behaviours and expectations of visitors to be understood.  

The CDT and the professionals involved will also receive data relevant to their district or their site (if there are at least 100 questionnaires). 

A very full set of results

The overall trends show: 

• The district’s reputation is the primary reason that the French (38%) and foreign visitors (51%) give for visiting.

• Almost half of the visitors are over 55. 
• The Loire valley is a destination which is as visited in the spring as it is in the summer, and the tourist season even extends into the autumn.
• The internet has become, by far, the most important tool used to plan a trip and more and more for making bookings.
• In 2010, 1 foreign visitor out of every 2 came for the first time: it remains to be seen whether this represents a strong revitalisation of the client base, or a difficulty in retaining them.
• The most popular Loire Valley departments are: Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher and Loiret.

Visitors can be grouped into one of three types: 

• Day-trippers (no overnight stay): 90% of these are French, of whom 60% come from the Central Region and 12% from the Île-de-France (IDF). Average expenditure: €86 per person per day.
• Itinerant tourists (staying in more than one place): 56% are French (26% from the IDF) followed by the British (20%), the Germans (18%) and the Dutch (17%). Average expenditure: €75 per person per day.
• ‘Sedentary’ tourists (staying in one place): 76% are French (28% from the IDF) followed by the British (25%), the Dutch (22%) and the Belgians (19%). Average expenditure: €61 per person per day.

‘Sedentary’ tourists like: 

• Castles and the historical heritage (3 out of 4)
• The calm and tranquillity (1 out of 2)
• Nature and the environment (1 out of 2), in particular the parks and gardens 
• Wines, local produce and gastronomy (1 out of 3).

On the internet:

• Report on tourist clientele in the Central Region in 2010 (CRT Centre)

On this site:

• Castles of the Loire
• The Loire by bicycle
•   Fleet and Ports of the Loire