For France to retain its title as the world’s leading tourist destination, big names in the sector are calling for an emphasis on digital technology and training for excellence.
Alliance France Tourisme (AFT), an association that brings together some twenty major groups in the sector (Accor, Homair, Pierre et Vacances, GL Events, etc.) challenges the presidential candidates with a dozen proposals for “underline the national challenge represented by tourism“. “It is one of the most important sectors of the economy, the most job-creating and the most affected by the crisis. covid “, explained to AFP Dominique Marcel, president of the association. The tourism sector represented, in 2019 before the pandemic, 7.4% of GDP in 2019 and 9.5% of jobs.
Keeping France at the forefront
Among the ten proposals taken from the white paper that the association published in October, professionals in the sector believe “urgent“to restructure “the Covid debt” over 10 years at a fixed rate in order to “save raise“. “Many companies are in very difficult situations“, according to Mr. Marcel and “competition with other countries will intensify“. “France is already no longer the first country in terms of tourist spending“, he warns.
Another proposalurgentaccording to Alliance France Tourisme: digital sovereignty. “The digital tourism sector must be regulated and data must be collected to be treated as a strategic issue for the French economy.“Tourism businesses are indeed increasingly dependent on online visibility and to cope with “foreign e-tourism professionals remunerated by substantial commissions», the AFT which asks for the «mobilization of State resources (Insee, Banque de France, Ministry of the Economy) allied with the Regions and large companies in the sector“.
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Focus on training excellence
In the longer term, the association emphasizes training and learning and calls for the “creation of a cross-sector educational center of excellence aimed at attracting talent from all over the world and exporting know-how in terms of tourism training“.
The bodies of the tourism sector must also be rethought, believes the AFT. “Tourism needs a global approach and a collective strategy“, believes Mr. Marcel. For the association, the Regions could be a good relay for this strategy. “Don’t waste timelaunches Dominique Marcel, do not believe that because we have a strong recovery, the problems will be solved. You have to invest“.