The ceremony took place on Wednesday 30 January 2008 at the national estate of Chambord and was attended by the managers of the 18 partner chateaux and monuments in the Val de Loire, Jean-Michel Bérard, prefect of the Centre region, the coordinator of the Plan Loire Grandeur Nature environmental plan for the river, and François Bonneau, president of the Centre region and president of the Val de Loire Mission.
The plan to create a network of major sites in the Val de
Loire was instigated in January 2006 by the
Val de Loire
Mission, at the request of the prefect of the Centre region,
the coordinator of the Plan Loire Grandeur Nature environmental
plan, and with the support of the Centre and Pays de la Loire
regional councils.
The Charter of Excellence has one ambition: to reinvigorate
and increase tourism in the Val de Loire by capitalising on its
inclusion on the list of World Heritage sites through joint
initiatives, in order to make the Val de Loire a destination of
excellence worthy of international recognition by UNESCO.
This initiative is designed to mobilise those involved,
making it possible to embark immediately on a programme of actions
over several years involving the chateaux and monuments that have
signed up to the charter, the partners of the Plan Loire Grandeur
Nature (central and regional government), regional and departmental
tourism institutions and the Val de Loire Mission.
The actions envisaged include:
- international promotion,
- classifying the products and services on offer
- researching new ideas in the areas of heritage mediation
and accessibility.