The Val de Loire chateaux target Chinese tourists

Major heritage sites in the Val de Loire have been working together for several months as part of a group led by the Val de Loire Mission, involving regional and departmental tourism institutions, on an action plan covering several years and focussing on promotion, the quality of the products and services on offer and the search for innovation in the areas of heritage mediation and accessibility.

The first initiative embarked on and completed under the auspices of the Regional Tourism Committee for the Centre region was a promotional visit to China (Beijing and Shanghai) designed to attract Chinese tourism professionals and persuade them to include the Val de Loire as a destination in their programmes, by emphasising the attractions of the Loire chateaux for Chinese tourists.

The visit took place between 8 and 15 December 2007 and involved the royal chateau of Blois, the chateau of Chambord, the Chaumont-sur-Loire estate, the royal chateau of Amboise, the chateau of Chenonceau, the Clos Lucé estate, the chateau and gardens of Villandry and the chateau of the Dukes of Brittany in Nantes. Representatives from the sites visited both cities and had the chance to meet 170 Chinese tourism professionals (tour operators, travel agents and journalists), making a range of useful contacts to encourage a greater number of Chinese visitors to the Val de Loire.

There is no doubt that as a destination the Val de Loire has no shortage of assets as far as this target audience is concerned: for the Chinese, the attraction of France is summed up by four symbolic key words and phrases: romanticism, the art of living, culture and heritage. The Loire chateaux and the rest of the offering available in the region embody these values and their advantages are further enhanced in the eyes of Chinese tourists by their proximity to Paris. It is no surprise, then, that the Loire chateaux have been increasingly well represented in the programmes offered by Chinese tour operators in recent months.

The action plan for the approach to excellence of the major sites involves a long-term programme of diverse promotional activities in the Chinese, as well as in European and other international markets.

Workshop in Beijing with Chinese tour operators

Alain Beignet, president of the Regional Tourism Committee for the Centre region, and Hervé Ladsous, France's ambassador to China

 

Meetings with Chinese tour operators in Shanghai