Multiple positioning for maturing tourist destinations Patrick VECE Patrick VECE French Riviera Tourism
The French Riviera A case study AS A CASE STUDY
France : a leading tourist destination The most visited country Tourism = 6.2% of GDP 80 million foreign stays Famous attractions : -Disneyland Paris 15 million visitors -Louvre Museum 8 million -Eiffel Tower 7 million -Versailles château : 4 million The country of fashion, luxury, perfumes, gastronomy, quality of life,
France : diversity of destinations Concentration on seaside 40%, cities (26%) and mountains (18%) French Riviera Côte d Azur : the Mediterranean south coast of France Paris Density of beds by square km Atlantic Ocean French Riviera
French Riviera Côte d Azur The leading French tourist destination after Paris 10 tourists per inhabitant : 10 million tourists The tourism industry : 18 % of jobs 6 billion USD in local tourism expenditure
Why the French Riviera? Beauty of landscapes - Mild Climate Special mix : a city by the sea, with a mountainous hinterland
A famous cultural destination
Tourism hard assets investments New developments 500 million USD invested each year : 5* hotel upgrading, convention centers extensions, new museums,
Tourism investments A limit to expansion Tourism development key elements : Proximity of transports and facilities Distance to the sea - Integrated resorts
Tourism intangible investments
Tourism maturity : markets Departure rate of the French residents : 75% 25% do not travel 33% : frequent travellers = 75% of all travel 42% : average travellers = 25% of all travel High concentration of trips by 1/3 of the population
Tourism maturity : markets Purchase intentions of the French population in September 2010 What type of expenses are you considering for the coming automn-winter months? Works in the house 19% Holiday - Travel 13% Main home equipment 9% Buying a car 9% Real estate investment 8% Health - Education 5% Strong sustainable tourism demand
Tourism maturity : destinations Overnight stays on the French Riviera Long term trend 80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Limited impact of crises on volumes of visitors Limited/slow structural changes, dense and diverse accommodations Well established awareness of the destination, strong widespread image
French Riviera Major ratios for a mature destination 50% domestic vs 50% international 75% leisure vs 25% business 75% repeat vs 25% first time visitors 30% short stays (1-3 nights) vs 70% long stays 50% overnights in non commercial accommodations 16 The Greatest challenge: seasonality 55% of all arrivals outside of peak season 14 12 10 8 6 4 Visitors by plane All visitors 2 0
French Riviera : multiple positioning to reach and face maturity Market segments for diversification Generating markets : regional, domestic, international Social types : young, couples, families, senior Purpose of stay : Leisure / Business Income level : Luxury / middle class Past experience : 1st time / repeat Length of stay : Short stay / long stay Accommodation type : Commercial / non commercial
Market diversification Maximum dispersion of French Riviera markets Non Europe 10% Other Europe 20% 50% France United-Kingdom 10% Italy 10% 50% domestic, each international market counts for less than 10% of total visitors
Leisure and Business destination Provides : - Reversed seasonality - Higher expense level Not to be opposed to leisure tourism : high level of convergence between both segments
First time visitors : Discovery Visitors spontaneous comments : «so many things to see and do» «not enough time»
Repeat visitors : Relaxation Visiting and practicing activities only secondary Activities 4% 61% Relaxing 35% Sightseeing
Luxury and middle class tourism Keeping a luxury image while targeting middle class segments 0 5% 3% 1 4 36% 24% 2 32% 3 Hotel rooms : 56% in 2-3* Only 3% of visitors spend more than 1000 USD per day
Short and long stays Growth of short stays segment with more direct flights to Nice Airport, less than 3 hours away The segment of short stays now appears as mature 2000000 1-3 nights 1600000 4 nights + 1200000 800000 Time to connect to the main European destinations 400000 0
Short and long stays Rates for shopping and activities raise in correlation with the length of stay 70% 60% 50% SHOPPING BEACH SPORTS OR ACTIVITIES SHOW OR FESTIVAL 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1 night 2 nights 3 nights 4 to 6 7 to 10 11 to 14 15 to 21 22 to 120 Long stays provide a better dispersion of expenditure and impact on the territory
Accommodation type Importance of private beds 13% 15% Over 50% of total nights A more stable tourism demand 29% 20% Longer stays, over the whole year 23% Hôtel rented accom. Family/Friends Second home Other 3000000 2500000 2000000 1500000 1000000 500000 commercial private 0 1992 2009
Growing convergence Tourism and residential economies 1st time 25 % of tourists Repeat 98 % wish to return 1/3 visit once every 4 years on av. Frequent 2nd home & VFR Semi residents 45% frequent visitors coming several times a year 130 000 second homes Double residence : very frequent stays 1 million residents (500 000 homes) 12% foreigners Only 40% live here since they were born Suppressing barriers between residents and tourists
Life cycle of tourism 2/3 of main and 2nd homes accommodate relatives and friends on the French Riviera Towards a SUSTAINABLE TOURISM CYCLE MODEL
Challenges coming with maturity Loss of interest : lower rate of first timers Aging customers Necessity to renovate/upgrade facilities Difficulty in changing the destination image Renewing interest for the destination
Ports : new perspectives for growth 2010 1991 Cruise passengers multiplied by 10 : 1 million in 2010
Monaco : new cruise port 352 m long - 160 000 tons A new semi-floating sea wall to dock ships
Increasing frequency of stays 75% of visitors stayed before 5 1st time 4 3 2 1 3-4 times Twice a year 1st stay Less than once a year less than once a year twice a year 3-4 times 5-6 times 7-12 times 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 every month and come back 4 times a year on average
Events : a key factor generating OTR (occasions to return)
Revealing all cultural potentials of a destination Developing thematic itineraries «Côte d Azur and Painters» Reproduction of artists masterpieces, posted in the original places where they were painted
Revealing all cultural potentials of a destination Claude Monet - Antibes Raoul Dufy - Nice
French Riviera : 1 % of international trips in the world Investing in succeeding tourism destinations cannot be a bad investment!
Thank you for your attention Patrick VECE French Riviera Tourism
Produced by Côte d Azur French Riviera Tourist Board 2010 October Patrick VECE French Riviera Tourism Photo credits : CRT Riviera Côte d Azur - Georges Veran Pierre Béhar Balloïde Photo Le Studio - Team Côte d Azur Nice Côte d Azur Airport - DTC Monaco Tourist office Nice - Semec Cannes Town of La Turbie Exedra Hotel Nice SBM Monaco - Cocteau Museum Menton CGAM «La Baie des Anges à Nice» by Raoul Dufy Emilienne Dufy Bequest Work from the National Collections entrusted to the MNAM at the Jules Cheret Museum of Fine Arts Nice ADAGP Michel Graniou «Antibes, Afternoon effect» by Claude Monet Museum of Fine Arts Boston CGAM «Grande Vue de Menton» by Maurice Frido ADAGP Collections of Menton Museum.