On Thursday 15th October at the Domaine régional de Chaumont sur Loire, a meeting chaired by François Bonneau, President of the Centre Region, appraised the Loire à Vélo, a public investment for the benefit of sustainable tourist development with major knock-on effects for image and the economy.
François Bonneau recalled that the Loire à Vélo
was truly
a project at the heart of the Centre Region's tourist
development strategy
.
The tourist development of the Loire à Vélo is
rooted in:
- the
quality of the cycling itinerary
- Laurent Savignac, in charge of the Loire à Vélo
project within the Regional Council, thus reviewed how the
itinerary and Information Services Point (RIS) have
progressed.
- the
provision of a range of services for cycling tourists
(accommodation, cycle hire shops, etc.)
- Nathalie Malaurie-Beynac and Céline Réveillard,
from the Val de Loire Mission, presented the procedure for
obtaining the Loire à Vélo label, and the current
number of members.
-
promotion among national and international
tourists
- Vincent Garnier, Director of the Regional Tourist Board,
talked about the promotion initiatives under way and the number
of tourists who cycle along the Loire à Vélo.
The sixty or so tourist stakeholders who attended
(accommodation owners, hirers, tourist sites and tourist offices)
were able to discuss all of these themes together.
The day was rounded off with
the "La Loire à Vélo" label being awarded to several
new sites by François Dumon, Vice-President of the Centre
Region, Tourist Delegate, and Alain Beignet, Chairman of the
Regional Tourist Board and Regional Adviser:
- Château de Langeais
- Château de Chaumont
- Château de Villandry
- Azay le Rideau Tourist Office
- Lulu parc
- Fantasy Forest
- Nicolas Paget wine estate cellars
Chantal Colleu-Dumond, Director of the Domaine de
Chaumont-sur-Loire:
"The Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire is extremely interested in
the Loire à Vélo scheme, as it lies on a promotory
overlooking the Loire, a key section of this ambitious initiative.
We wanted to become involved in this joint venture alongside other
cultural and tourist sites, aware that the public are changing
their leisure pursuits and that urbanites would like to get back to
nature, showing immense interest in heritage."
Valérie Lopes, Director of the Pays d'Azay le
Rideau Tourist Office:
"Joining the "Loire à vélo" initiative has meant
that we have not only listened to the requests of a growing cycling
clientele, but also become ambassadors alongside our professional
tourism partners in the region. After being awarded the "Tourism
and Disability" label in 2008, this strengthens our commitment to a
quality initiative further."
La Loire à Vélo Brand