The place of tourism in the new territorial organization displeased everyone

Tourism will he find his way in the regions? At first glance, the bill for improving land in this direction. In Article 5, the text states that the skills of tourism will be "shared between the state and communities" and that "the area is designated as a leader responsible for organizing the terms of the joint action local authorities and their associations. "

Regional pattern and new power for the intermunicipal
Specifically, the regions will develop a regional plan for tourist development (TDRS) and attach the document through the strategic management objectives, development and tourism promotion. This scheme will serve as territorial convention of exercise and should be developed in consultation with other territorial levels.

However, who says regional leader does not say exclusive jurisdiction. Section 24 of the bill places the field of tourism such as culture and sport to the rank of "shared competence", when Article 14 provides that "the promotion of tourism by creating tourist office" within the scope of mandatory powers of municipalities and communities of agglomeration.

Direct consequence of this measure, tourist offices tourist towns and resorts classified tourism will be maintained but converted to office information office intercommunal tourism, except for one that will serve as a seat.

The common approach advocated voluntary intermunicipal
The mayors of France see no welcome this latest measure. "I think the voluntary principle is smarter, insists Pélissard Jacques, president of the Association of Mayors of France. If there is an interest in working at the inter-level member municipalities will. However, in a community, the town's flagship in terms of tourism is not necessarily the town center. It could end up embedded in the inter and "misunderstood" by his neighbors, who will not put the package, including financially, to ensure promotion operations. "

© R. Bourguet

Tourism development and the attractiveness of a country as dependent on other activities - development of heritage, recreation, roads, seasonal housing, etc. - That do not necessarily fall within the inter skills "

The Chair of the MFA also emphasizes the cross-cutting nature of tourism. "Tourism development and the attractiveness of a country as dependent on other activities - development of heritage, recreation, roads, seasonal housing, etc. - That do not necessarily fall intercommunal skills. Create a dissociation between these skills and that tourism is my carrier sense of negative effects, even perverse. "

Departments, best scale?
Between municipalities and intermunicipal acquiring a new skill and regions that are assigned the "head of Filat 'tourism departments defend their role and relevance of their territory in this area face the threat of their total disappearance .

"When you're sightseeing in the mountains, for example, you do not stay in a municipality or intermunicipal says is the Association of Departments of France. At the same time, you're not going to go hundreds of miles of a region, let alone super regions are preparing. "He concluded:" The department is a good level of tourist point of view: it offers proximity and at the same time a large enough scale to structure an offer. "

It is a view that Maria Vadillo, elected to the UK and President of the Tourism Committee of theARF region does not share. For her, it's pretty clear: the land must be made between the inter-communal or intercommunal groupings and regions. The fact that the intercommunal get a mandatory competence in the field thus satisfies the regions.

But their contentment stops here. "On the place allocated to regions in tourism, this bill is an illusion," says the chosen one who has met the Tourism Committee of the ARF last week to analyze the issue.

A false leader Filat?
If the side of the AMF, it supports the idea of ​​a regional plan "provided it does not drop too much detail" under penalty "obstruct all communities that really are the projects who take daily tourism promotion in their territory ", the ARF, it is estimated that this head of Filat is an illusion.

"What does the law say? She says that one can merge the CRT and CDT, shows Maria Vadillo. But this possibility is not new. It states that it is developing a pattern? But this scheme should not be approved by the plenary of the region but this kind of boiled cat that is the territorial conference, which actually does not award validates anything but only to be a place of negotiation. "

Another cause of discontent for ARF: The content of regional scheme is applicable only to the signatory communities. "In practical terms, this means that all levels may or may not seize that power and violation of a regional strategy to prevail the one. This text adds layers to those existing and opaque things. It mainly shows that the authors still consider tourism as macramé and not as one of the most job-creating economies. "

Parliamentary debates promise to be intense ...

Tourism and Foreign Affairs
Under cover of the cabinet reshuffle, the State Secretariat for Tourism was attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This decision appears to satisfy the local decision makers. "If this can help further promote tourism abroad France, it's good for the trade balance," commented Jacques Pélissard. For the Federation of medium-sized cities, "this strategy of international reputation" can benefit many medium-sized cities "that have a heritage and numerous tourist attractions," but "it must not be at the expense of a strategy to address territories in more local or national presence. "
As for the regions, they believe that this attachment is able to "revive a national policy to radiate France," provided that tourism businesses to be treated in the same boat as companies in other sectors.