International trade fairs and cycle tourism. Travel agencies and start-ups. Nautical bases and small tourist trains. Peri-urban hotel industry and BTS Tourism. At the risk of sprinkling, the “Destination France” plan that Prime Minister Jean Castex in Amboise (Indre-et-Loire) must present on Saturday 20 November covers most of the issues of French tourism, to which the government intends to set a course at ten years: to become the world leader in terms of tourism revenue from foreign visitors, by making “Rise in quality” the global offer and by granting itself the symbolic title of “First sustainable tourism destination in the world”.
The plan consists of 1.3 billion euros in loans, some 350 million euros in aid for the transformation of the sector, as well as communication actions (30 million euros) and aid for leaving on vacation for young people, seniors and Ultramarins (70 million). “The State is investing again in tourism policy, with a common thread: sustainable tourism”, underlines the Secretary of State for Tourism, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
For six months, the government has heard the complaints of a French tourism in relative loss of speed vis-à-vis its rivals, whether they are close – Spain, the Balkans – or more distant – the Persian Gulf, South Asia. East. He identified two major weaknesses: the lack of attractiveness of tourism professions and the quality of the mid-range offer.
No measure on working conditions and remuneration
To overcome the first, he promises a communication campaign in 2022 and 2023 on the scale of that carried out by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, in order to “Make young people dream again about these jobs which allow the social lift and are carriers of meaning”.
a “Network of excellence of schools and training” is also announced, while training is increasing to the detriment of overall consistency and quality. It will be added to the Conference of Excellence in Tourism Training, created… in 2015.
No measure has been announced, however, on the main obstacles to the attractiveness of the profession: working conditions and remuneration. The first day of salary negotiations in the hotel and catering industry, on November 18, showed the large gap separating the employers’ proposals from the expectations of the unions. As for the housing difficulties for employees in tourist resorts, the plan proposes to help local authorities and employers to open “Physical information desks” for seasonal workers.
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