The new eco – How to sell the Cité de la Gastronomie de Dijon to tourists?
Will the City of Gastronomy be an economic engine for Dijon? Before the pandemic, the capital of the Dukes attracted nearly 300,000 visitors a year. This figure has been halved with the Covid crisis. Today attendance is back on the rise. Will the City of Gastronomy be a vacuum cleaner for tourists? We put the question to Cordula Riedel, the director of the Dijon Tourist Office:
France Bleu Bourgogne: the City of Gastronomy opens its doors this Friday, May 6. How did you communicate about the arrival of this new tourist area?
Cordula Riedel: Since the beginning of the year, we have participated in operations with foreign tour operators, workshops (“workshops” Editor’s note) internationally, therefore, whether Europeans or long haul. There was a show in Brazil in which we participated via our local representative. Each time, there is a lot of interest in the city, people who want to book and booking requests that reach us. So it starts very strong. It really promises a great tourist season around gastronomy and wine.
Have the first contracts already been signed with tour operators?
We are in the process of formalizing a partnership with a Swiss tour operator, precisely for the sale of entrance tickets to the Cité. There are other partnerships that are in progress, as well as communication campaigns still on Switzerland since we were on this country there. An operation on the trains which come from Switzerland to Paris and which stop in Dijon to talk about the city and the destination of Dijon.
And for people who come to visit the city, do we include the City of Gastronomy in the circuit?
Yes, the City is included in our City-Pass offer. From the first formula, the one at 25 euros, on access to the 4 exhibition halls and a visit to this new place.
Do we already set ourselves an attendance target? Do we let things happen?
We therefore wish to win back European customers, but also international ones who come from Brazil, the United States, India, Asia, China. These are customers that we see already returning a little bit to l occasion of these Easter holidays which have just taken place. And reservations are going well for this summer. So we are very optimistic.
No doubt more visitors with the City of Gastronomy. Does that also mean for you the need to recruit, to have new agents on site?
Absolutely. In fact, there will be a third office of the tourist office at the Cité. We have recruited about fifteen people for the season. We will be able to direct visitors from the city to the Cité and vice versa. We still have a lot of products to put in place, such as shuttles outside the city with tastings in the estates. It will probably be next year.