"An exceptional heritage": Willy Rosier, Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Committee

W. R. - Several initiatives were put in place, including a television campaign with a strong emotional bias. The film provided a break in tone, while at the same time the Route du Rhum brought us positive and stimulating spin-offs. Today, we need to remain cautious, but all the indicators are in the green: for the first quarter of 2011, the hotel occupancy rate was around 80 %; as for the low season, it is up by 15 % on 2010. In addition, receptive operators are announcing an increase in orders of around 50 % for the upcoming high season. We are now engaged in a strategy of winning back customers.

 W. R. - Marketing is based on the archipelago's natural assets to create dreams. Admittedly, we don't have the most beautiful hotels in the West Indies, but our heritage is exceptional in its quality and diversity. Another point is structural: Guadeloupe is to be divided into five territories and a tourism development contract is to be signed with these communities of conurbations to enable a more structured offering: Gosier-St François focusing on seaside resorts, Sud Basse-Terre concentrating on eco-tourism, and so on.

W. R. - The renovation of the Saint-François golf course, one of the finest in the Caribbean, is now complete, and several hotel renovations are in the pipeline. An extension to the Gosier aquarium is planned, and the question of creating a cable car to take visitors to La Soufrière is still on the agenda. Finally, with Martinique, we are working on setting up a convention bureau for the French Caribbean.