Les PoHtes, a cheerful, innovative and high-quality welcome!

Publié le 18 April 2025 par su_laetis

For many years now, our Tourist Information Offices have been neglected by holidaymakers, despite being refurbished in a variety of ways and equipped with digital technology, and this is happening more and more every year. Digital transformation is playing a major role in this change: now that holidaymakers are all (or almost all) connected, they have everything they need in terms of tourist information on their smartphones. Everything, that is, except human contact and encounters, which can sometimes transform a holiday!

Off-site reception

To compensate for this drop in visitor numbers, the Offices have initially developed off-site visitor services. At Les Gaillards, our red moustachioed lorry travels the length and breadth of the region to meet visitors at 'hot spots' such as local farmers' markets, campsite reception areas and even motorway service areas just before holidaymakers arrive in their promised land.

These off-site activities have been a resounding success and are now an essential part of the tourist experience in the Gaillard region. But visitor behaviour is changing all the time, and we too are having to adapt and reinvent ourselves.

Meeting "real" people

Although visitors are connected, they are looking for "real" encounters. They are looking for human exchanges, sharing experiences with locals who do not represent the institution, such as the Tourist Offices. The institution's message can sometimes be misleading because of the exhaustive nature of its offer. Visitors are well aware of this, and they want to see things from a different angle!

Tourism service providers: No. 1 for information

Tourism professionals are often the first to provide visitors with information about the region. Accommodation providers, restaurant owners and managers of visitor attractions are often the first people that visitors informally turn to for tourist information about the region.

Limiting white areas

Finally, despite the presence of a number of tourist information offices throughout the region and a major programme of off-site reception facilities throughout the tourist season, there were still a significant number of "white zones" in terms of reception facilities. These areas, where there are few or no accommodation providers, no visitor sites or no activity sites, are nonetheless visited by tourists who are increasingly looking for secret places to discover, leisure activities in natural areas, and so on.

Tourist Hospitality Points

The combination of all these factors has given rise to a new and innovative concept for welcoming tourists to the region: the PoHTes, or Tourist Hospitality Points. Bakeries, tobacconists, town halls, post offices, media libraries, grocery shops, second-hand shops... all different and, above all, all willing to be part of the strategy for welcoming tourists to the Gaillard area.

These new partners will complete the overall package that already includes our tourist information offices, our off-site reception facilities and the reception provided by our tourism service providers. These ambassadors for the region are naturally called upon by visitors to provide a wide range of tourist information. We make it a point of honour to provide practical support to our service providers in the information they provide on a daily basis.

They are now an integral part of our overall strategy, and we provide them with the tools they need: tourist documentation, of course (guide to good tips and tourist map), but also training for their reception staff, 100% Gaillard signage and branding, and above all a strong link with the reception team via a closed Facebook group.

The added bonus: visitors will be given information by local staff, who will be able to use these tools to provide comprehensive tourist information, but most importantly, this information will be personalised! Every PoHTe has his or her favourite Gaillard spots and good addresses... An innovative, high-quality welcome: a welcome that's 100% Gaillard!

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