|
|
Back to the list of speakers
Back to the programme
The role of the citizen: can the participation of local residents in tourism development help to ensure that visitors receive a better welcome? The case of Chamonix Mont-Blanc Bernard PRUD'HOMME - General Director of the Chamonix Mont-Blanc Tourist Office, France
As a matter of curiosity, let us consider the origin for the word "hostes", which signifies both "guest, stranger" and "enemy", and is the origin of the word "hostile".
The word "hospes", meanwhile, evolved towards the signifier "who receives".
Both "hospes" and "hostes" keep their own specific meanings, and their relationship will always be ambiguous.
We should note that only the Romance languages use the same word for "person who receives" and "person who is received": "hôte".
In German: Gast / Gastgeber
In English: Guest / Host
Today we use "Visitor / Visited" in the language of tourism.Does this mean that the welcome improves and develops a structure through the years? The fact remains that in 1741 when Windham and Pococke came to visit the glaciers they were armed to the teeth.
In view of the question asked by Mr. Keller, it is my duty to analyse and illustrate my words with examples drawn from local life.
Let us define the citizen as simply as possible. Does he live in the city of Chamonix, in France, or by extension Europe?
According to Larousse, the citizen is an inhabitant of the city. But is this person a permanent (native) or occasional (tourist) inhabitant?
Common sense urges us towards permanent inhabitants. Here, these citizens come from:
- The founding families who have been established since the 11th century and were recorded in the 16th century. They participated a great deal in the conquering of Mont Blanc, and consequently in the birth of mountaineering, on 8 August 1786. As a side note, three years before the French revolution and therefore revolutionary precursors, Chamoniards freed themselves from the seigniorial rights of the Priory of Chamonix on 30 October 1786.
- Families who settled after each of the major projects were realised--the railroad in 1901, the cable cars of Planpraz in 1927 and of the Aiguille du Midi in 1965, not to forget the tunnel under Mont Blanc.
- Finally, the multiple other families living here for more than 20 years, from all backgrounds, from all nations, out of love for the natural site or by economic necessity.
I will simply cite the approach of our friends, Japanese climbers in the '70s who dreamt of undertaking the great routes of the northern face of the Grandes Jorasses, and who have since become permanent inhabitants, having created a family that we have dubbed, not without a sense of humour, the Japoniards. The same phenomenon repeats itself with other nationalities: Swedes, Britons, Italians, Portuguese, and Moroccans.
All of them have also participated in the tourism development of the valley and have consequently improved the resort's offer.But what does this have to do with the welcome?
Every class of professional improves their sales total by motivating their reception staff as best they can, by listening to their loyal clients, and by trying to assess the requirements of their guests in terms of human and material investment.
The resort takes an interest in the criticisms made by the foreign clientele disappointed by the current French welcome.In fact, we can read in different trade publications
(Cahier espaces):
- France will be given up by foreigners in the coming years if the foreign tourist continues to be ignored and sometimes looked down on.
- The emotional bond of France as the land of welcome and land of human rights is no longer sufficient.
- The tradition of French service is disappearing.
- Fine service rubs shoulders with the jogging suit crowd.
More serious: the replacement of marketing people who have an obligation for volume is causing a scattering of the offer and thus of the clientele. These choices are incompatible with measures for developing loyalty.
To what degree can we compensate for these criticisms without losing our identity and our humanism?
Let us take the Chamonix Tourism Office as an example.The French have always been resistant to foreign languages. Twenty years ago, we preferred to hire trilingual ground agents (or those with even more languages), while adopting ongoing language training.
Tourism has always favoured relations between peoples, their traditions, their cultures, and it urges us towards more tolerance and openness towards others.
Since then, foreign ground agents at the Tourism Office (Dutch, Germans, Italians, Swedes, etc.) who have a thorough knowledge of their own culture, suggest holidays to their fellow citizens that fit their desires while taking their own experience into account.This unfortunately brings us to a more in-depth consideration:
Faced with the demand for the multiple activities of a European amusement park, what is becoming of our identity? The Dôme du Goûter is called Mont Blanc, the Aiguille du Midi cable car is the Mont Blanc cable car, the bistrot becomes the pub, and so on.It was time for us to take these changes into account.
To do so, the Tourism Office facilitated access to the Guides du Patrimoine des Pays de Savoie (Savoie Heritage Guides) certificate. Today a German ground agent with a GPPS certificate receives and welcomes Japanese tourists, who are delighted and surprised that a European speaks their language so well.
Another example: a perfectly bilingual French-Russian ground agent manages all relations between Russia and Chamonix, introducing a quality clientele simply by the agent's knowledge and passion for the Slavic culture.
These examples illustrate the manner in which the quality of the welcome is evolving, between economic circumstances and knowledge of the other.Let's take some time to analyse the present situation.
On the one side are tourism enterprises that are increasingly successful, of high quality, meeting ISO 9000 and AFNOR NF X 50-730 standards, generating a welcome that is homogenised and refined, but continually developing around new tools, like the ISO 14001 standard for sustainable development.
On the other side are exacting visitors coming to recharge their batteries at a tourist site where nature influences the behaviour, sensibility, and creativity of the local hospes.Somewhat playfully, the Chamoniard attempts to construct bridges between the two worlds, trying to unite them, finding a common identity and sharing the values that I presented to you in this very place last year.
I remind you that today we are meeting around the exception of the Mont Blanc Massif.
We are searching for new ways to preserve the harmony of relationships between humans and nature.
This ongoing search develops in our hosts an attachment to the Massif, a pride of belonging to a community.
This identity and the ensuing values--Respect, Freedom, Outperforming, and Open-mindedness--constitute a platform for exchange that we share with our visitors.
Even if, in doing so, we invent stereotypes that in the end are truer than reality.
At the foot of Mont Blanc everything seems easy, but let us pursue our thoughts about the risks incurred by the Chamonix enterprise.
The increase in the price of real estate, the cost of money, and rapid economic development will limit a citizen's investment potential.
This change will attract more and more outside investors and capital.
Family-run businesses will disappear in favour of small companies that will group together and expand thanks to their shareholders.
Shops will be increasingly franchised by large brands, for example sportswear boutiques.
Chain hotels will modify the resort's accommodation offer.
The Chamoniard hospes will specialise in service companies, while the quality of the welcome will be transformed in order to contribute to and improve the profitability of the Chamonix enterprise.
The identity will perhaps be retained, but the values of the Chamonix "corporate" enterprise will move towards the Chamonix brand.
A sort of label: "spirit of Chamonix"As evidence, the association of Paris Chamoniards, who, during their annual dinner arrange a meeting around the resort's history. Similarly, a meeting in South Africa around Chamonix wine, in Japan around a car brand, and in the USA around Chamonix restaurants.
In response to the question asked: Can the participation of local residents in tourism development help to ensure that visitors receive a better welcome?
The answer is yes.
Tourism development was able to dexterously transform its agricultural land into a tool receiving the "hostes" from all countries.
Today, it is once again transforming the tools of tourism into actions within enterprises generating dividends.
As a result of this, the cultural exchanges that we are trying to maintain are being transformed little by little into a welcome of service and suitability.The entire roped party of Chamonix is participating in the ascent to its summit, but the ridge of the welcome is hemmed by delicate cornices.
