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Know-how tourism” is a vector for the development of territories and constitutes a tourism sector of the future. A call for projects, created by the General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE) and won by the Entreprise et Découverte, implements “company visits”. More and more companies and industries are taking part in this national initiative. This is particularly true of the French leather industry and the cosmetics industry.
As a reminder, when this project was launched in 2020, “the objective set was to double, within five years, the number of French companies open to visitors and to diversify the sectors involved, so as to position France as the European leader in know-how tourism”, according to the website of the Ministry of the Economy.
To this end, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, represented by the General Directorate of Enterprises (DGE), in partnership with the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, had launched on 31 January 2020 a national call for projects “intended to select an operator or a group of operators capable of piloting, in conjunction with the interested professional federations, consular networks and institutional actors of tourism, a project for the development, professionalisation and promotion of the French know-how tourism offer on the territory.”
The association Entreprise et Découverte, which specialises in know-how tourism, won this call with a clear message: opening a company to visitors can be the source of many advantages for the company, whatever its field of activity.
Its first action was to carry out a complete diagnosis in 5 territories in collaboration with professional federations and tourism institutions. The objective is to enrich the cultural tourism offer of the regions, to qualify the offer of the know-how tourism sector and to generate new flows, over a period of 3 years.
To achieve this, the association has created a strategic and committed grouping whose members are privileged partners. These include the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, represented by the General Directorate of Companies, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of National Education.
Other partners include emblematic companies that have long been involved in know-how tourism, such as EDF, the Rémy Martin company and the Monnaie de Paris, regions and territories, universities, as well as major professional federations, such as the French leather and cosmetics industries.
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It should be noted that this type of tourism has about 15 million visitors per year and is constantly developing, which allows the younger generation to discover jobs they do not know about.
Cécile Pierre, General Delegate of Entreprise et Découverte, explains: “We are going to work both on the emergence of new companies to support them in the process of opening up to the public, and on the professionalisation and qualification of the offer of companies already listed. ”
The French leather industry is committed to knowledge tourism
Among the new entrants to the project is the French leather industry with the National Leather Council as a new partner. The challenge for the industry is to strengthen its attractiveness by promoting its unique trades and know-how.
Indeed, this industry brings together a multitude of unique skills in the sectors of leather goods, glove making, shoe making and tannery/sewing. Unfortunately, know-how tourism is not sufficiently developed. The partnership will give the companies in the sector much better visibility and accessibility.
“The leather industry is deeply rooted in the regions and already plays an active role in the animation of the territories. The collaboration with Entreprise et Découverte will allow us to promote our professions and our know-how of excellence to the general public”, declared Frank Boehly, president of the CNC.
The cosmetics industry is committed to know-how tourism
Within the framework of this partnership, the Cosmetic Valley wishes to promote the societal and environmental commitment of its companies, to discover its trades and to respond to the growing need for transparency of consumers.
Just like the leather industry, tourism of know-how is very little developed in the cosmetics sector, despite the preponderance of trades with excellent know-how. Beyond discovery and the need for transparency, Cosmetic Valley also wishes to facilitate exchanges between companies and the public.
In addition, the Cosmetic Valley is preparing the opening of the International House of Cosmetics in Chartres in 2024. This initiative confirms its ambition to improve the discovery and accessibility of French industrial excellence in a sector such as perfumery.
READ ALSO > FRENCH LEATHER INDUSTRY : A MEETING ON SUPPORT MECHANISMS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Featured photo : © Entreprise et découverte[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
