{"id":104043,"date":"2021-01-14T00:09:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T23:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=104043"},"modified":"2026-01-28T16:18:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:18:57","slug":"alsace-new-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/alsace-new-identity","title":{"rendered":"Alsace takes control of its destiny"},"content":{"rendered":"

The creation of the Grand Est region<\/strong> under the presidency of Fran\u00e7ois Hollande in 2013 and its debut in 2016 created deep frustration in Alsace from the outset. More than anywhere else in the Grand Est region, Alsace has a very strong cultural, linguistic and societal identity.<\/p>\n

Alsace's unease has been perceptible since the creation of the new region. An unease at finding itself dissolved into a very heterogeneous whole between Champagne and the banks of the Rhine.<\/p>\n

However, the problem seems to have been solved with the introduction of the European Community of Alsace (CEA)<\/strong>. A strange status, between the Grand Est region and the d\u00e9partements. In fact, thehe CEA is based on the merger of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departmental councils<\/strong>. Even though the latter will continue to exist as an administrative structure. Elections for Alsace councillors (80 in total), followed by a vote on the Collectivit\u00e9's definitive headquarters - between Strasbourg and Colmar - will mark the first steps of the new entity.<\/p>\n

La visibility of Alsace<\/strong> is probably the most tangible element of this change. The Alsace\" brand<\/strong> is already being used on all public buildings and number plates, as well as on products and services representing the region. Made in Alsace\" is now a reality.<\/p>\n

The cross-border nature of Alsace is the law<\/span><\/h2>\n

The CEA is also acquiring additional powers in the economic, cultural, transport and tourism fields.<\/strong>. The new authority manages a annual budget of 1.8 billion euros<\/strong>240 million in investment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The new logo of the Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne d'Alsace on the building of the former Bas-Rhin departmental council in Strasbourg (Photo: LC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The CEA's levers for action on<\/strong> international relations, bilingualism and mobility <\/strong>will play an important role in attracting investors. The first two aspects are in fact closely linked. Alsace has always looked to the outside world, and \"quite naturally to our two closest neighbours, Germany and Switzerland, with whom there are cultural synergies,\" stresses the Alsatian government. Marc L\u00e9vy, Managing Director, Alsace Destination Tourisme<\/strong>who is in charge of tourism promotion.<\/p>\n

The CEA officially recognises its cross-border nature in law<\/strong>. This is a first in France. This recognition gives the local authority powers for cross-border cooperation, including new economic and infrastructure projects. For example, the CEA will be working on a densification of rail links<\/strong> to improve mobility with its German and Swiss neighbours.<\/p>\n

A greater economic integration<\/strong> is also advocated with all thehe Upper Rhine region<\/strong> (Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg and the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft). This integration will be all the more effective because the Germans and Swiss now have a single point of contact, the CEA.<\/p>\n

Tourism had already anticipated the creation of this European community. Not least because of its economic weight. In 2019, before the covid-19 crisis, Alsace generated 12.4 million overnight stays per year, i.e. 48% of all overnight stays in the Grand Est region<\/strong>. Half of its overnight stays came from the domestic market. In 2019, tourism generated sales of \u20ac2.5 billion...<\/p>\n

Reclaiming the region as a tourist attraction<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"In 2016, we anticipated the return of the Alsace identity with the merger of the departmental tourism agencies. The Alsace Destination Tourisme agency then took over. Its role is to promote the region in coordination with our counterparts in the Grand Est region,\" explains its director Marc L\u00e9vy.<\/p>\n

The Alsace brand will enhance the region's image and visibility worldwide<\/strong>. \"There will certainly be a new marketing strategy, but it's still a little early to talk about it. We would like to be able to evaluate hotel projects again, for example, with private and public partners. This is a prerogative that was lost with the creation of Grand Est,\" adds Marc L\u00e9vy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Marc L\u00e9vy, Director of Alsace Destination Tourisme, the tourism development agency (Photo: ADT).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the events sector, the agency also hopes to work on repositioning the destination. This became necessary with the covid-19 crisis.<\/p>\n

According to ADT's CEO, we need to rethink the era of major congresses and events<\/strong>. \"We know that MICE activities will come back because people need to meet. But we need to come up with new scenarios. We need to see how we can integrate the suburbs into our seminar and conference offerings. I'm thinking, for example, of promoting seminars in Haguenau, Obernai or S\u00e9lestat, destinations close to Strasbourg. We're also working on nature-based alternatives, capitalising on a semi-rural offering for MICE.<\/p>\n

In 2021, ADT will focus its marketing efforts on the domestic market<\/strong>- particularly Ile-de-France and Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes-Auvergne. According to Marc L\u00e9vy, \"a real recovery in long-haul markets will take place between 2022 and 2024...\".<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 1 January, the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin became the new Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne d'Alsace. The merger will create a new Alsatian regional entity within the Grand Est region, with wider economic, cultural and tourist powers.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":104045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87,95],"tags":[1019,2283],"type-darticle":[],"n_magazine":[],"class_list":["post-104043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations-affaires","category-incentive-et-meetings","tag-france","tag-alsace","vapo-free"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nL'identit\u00e9 heureuse de la nouvelle Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne d'Alsace<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"La r\u00e9gion Alsace avait disparu au profit de Grand Est en 2016. Elle est revenue le 1er janvier sous la d\u00e9nomination de "Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne"...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/alsace-new-identity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"L'Alsace reprend en main sa destin\u00e9e\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"La r\u00e9gion Alsace avait disparu au profit de Grand Est en 2016. Elle est revenue le 1er janvier sous la d\u00e9nomination de "Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne"...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/alsace-new-identity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Voyages d'affaires\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-13T23:09:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T15:18:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/strasbourg-cathedrale.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"467\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Luc Citrinot\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Luc Citrinot\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite\",\"name\":\"L'identit\u00e9 heureuse de la nouvelle Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne d'Alsace\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/strasbourg-cathedrale.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-13T23:09:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T15:18:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c74b2eea412d55da7482e81e95f8edc3\"},\"description\":\"La r\u00e9gion Alsace avait disparu au profit de Grand Est en 2016. Elle est revenue le 1er janvier sous la d\u00e9nomination de \\\"Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne\\\"...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/strasbourg-cathedrale.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/strasbourg-cathedrale.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":467,\"caption\":\"Strasbourg, la capitale de la r\u00e9gion Grand-Est est candidate \u00e0 devenir aussi la capitale de la nouvelle Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne d'Alsace (Photo: LC)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"L’Alsace reprend en main sa destin\u00e9e\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/\",\"name\":\"Voyages d'affaires\",\"description\":\"media fran\u00e7ais du Voyage d'Affaires & du MICE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c74b2eea412d55da7482e81e95f8edc3\",\"name\":\"Luc Citrinot\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/author\/luccitrinot\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The happy identity of the new Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne d'Alsace","description":"The Alsace region disappeared in favour of Grand Est in 2016. It returned on 1 January under the name of \"Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne\"...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/alsace-new-identity","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"L'Alsace reprend en main sa destin\u00e9e","og_description":"La r\u00e9gion Alsace avait disparu au profit de Grand Est en 2016. Elle est revenue le 1er janvier sous la d\u00e9nomination de \"Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne\"...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/alsace-new-identity","og_site_name":"Voyages d'affaires","article_published_time":"2021-01-13T23:09:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-28T15:18:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":467,"url":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/strasbourg-cathedrale.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Luc Citrinot","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Luc Citrinot","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite","url":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite","name":"The happy identity of the new Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne d'Alsace","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/strasbourg-cathedrale.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-13T23:09:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T15:18:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c74b2eea412d55da7482e81e95f8edc3"},"description":"The Alsace region disappeared in favour of Grand Est in 2016. It returned on 1 January under the name of \"Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne\"...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/strasbourg-cathedrale.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/strasbourg-cathedrale.jpg","width":700,"height":467,"caption":"Strasbourg, la capitale de la r\u00e9gion Grand-Est est candidate \u00e0 devenir aussi la capitale de la nouvelle Collectivit\u00e9 Europ\u00e9enne d'Alsace (Photo: LC)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/alsace-nouvelle-identite#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"L’Alsace reprend en main sa destin\u00e9e"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/","name":"Business travel","description":"THE FRENCH BUSINESS TRAVEL & MICE MEDIA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c74b2eea412d55da7482e81e95f8edc3","name":"Luc Citrinot","url":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/author\/luccitrinot"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104043"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104447,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104043\/revisions\/104447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104043"},{"taxonomy":"type-darticle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-darticle?post=104043"},{"taxonomy":"n_magazine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/n_magazine?post=104043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}