PRESS RELEASE
02.06.2022
SIGNING OF THE “DESTINATION CONTRACT” EXPLORE COGNAC: MAKING THE CHARENTES REGION – HOME TO COGNAC – A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL WINE TOURISM DESTINATION
Tourism stakeholders, local authorities and the Cognac sector are working together to develop wine tourism in the Charentes region and promote it internationally by drawing on the reputation of Cognac to create memorable experiences.
Today, on Thursday 2 June, at the Les Abattoirs venue in Cognac, they will sign an official agreement with Atout France, France’s tourism development agency, and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Tourism Committee (CRT).
The aim is to make Explore Cognac a sustainable wine tourism destination
recognised worldwide thanks to the Cognac image.
A SUSTAINABLE COLLECTIVE
A group of tourism stakeholders, local authorities and the Cognac sector have joined forces and have been working together since 2019 on the Explore Cognac destination contract to develop wine tourism in the Charentes region and promote it internationally by drawing on the reputation of Cognac and creating memorable experiences. Today, on Thursday 2 June, they will sign an official agreement in Cognac with France’s tourism development agency, Atout France. The aim is to make Explore Cognac a sustainable wine tourism destination recognised worldwide thanks to the Cognac image.
Led by the project initiator and coordinator, Charentes Tourisme, (tourism development agency of the Charente and Charente-Maritime departments), this collective is made up of a group of public and private and partners. These include the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), the Greater Angoulême Community Council, the La Rochelle Community Council, the Community of Municipalities of 4B Sud-Charente, the Community of Municipalities of Gémozac, the Community of Municipalities of Haute-Saintonge, the Community of Municipalities of Lavalette Tude Dronne, the Community of Municipalities of Oléron and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Tourism Committee.
EXPLORE COGNAC, AN INTERNATIONAL WINE TOURISM DESTINATION
The purpose of the destination contract is to collectively promote Explore Cognac as a wine tourism destination, primarily to British, European and American consumers.
This joint project will provide a complete range of services in line with visitors’ aspirations, seeking to increase and channel the flow of tourists within the destination region and thus help create jobs linked to this activity.
Innovation, structuring the offer, and greater professionalism in hospitality and communication will be the four pillars central to developing this sector over the next three years.
With this destination contract, the entire collective commits to a joint action and promotion plan focusing on two priority markets, Great Britain and the USA, to the tune of 200,000 euros including VAT for the first year of the contract (2022 – 2023).
Destination contracts seek to create destinations beyond administrative boundaries, enabling all local tourism stakeholders – both public and private – to work together under the same regional brand and provide a better structured and more internationally visible offer for a three-year period (2022 – 2024).
ABOUT DESTINATION CONTRACTS
Launched by the French government in 2015, the “destination contract” scheme seeks to unite French tourism stakeholders around shared goals. It offers prime visibility to major French destinations in a highly competitive context. The objective is to better mobilise all stakeholders by conducting clear and coherent strategic actions (promotion, offer, training, business intelligence) to attract new international visitors, better distribute the flow of tourists both spatially and temporally and create a return on investment in terms of income, investment and jobs.
A framework contract signed between Atout France, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Committee confirms support for seven brands in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region by establishing seven destination contracts, including Explore Cognac.
PRESS CONTACTS
Charentes Tourisme
Laure Thomas
+33 (0)6 07 21 43 78
l.thomas@charentestourisme.com
Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC)
Mélie Lamblin
M. +33 (0)6 38 72 01 29
mlamblin@bnic.fr