French regions are offering cash rewards to visitors

Visit Charente

One of the first initiatives to be announced came from the combined Charente-Maritime and Charente tourist board. It will issue 10,000 vouchers worth €100 each on a first come, first served basis to anyone visiting the region between July 1 and November 1.

Applicants must register on infiniment-charentes.com and provide receipts showing they spent at least two nights in the region, ate at a traditional restaurant, visited an attraction, or took part in a leisure activity. The vouchers will be for visits to attractions across the region, not just the popular La Rochelle area.

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Visit Vosges

The Vosges department is launching a similar scheme. Visitors also have to register on tourisme.vosges.fr with 8,888 offers of €50 cash returned for visitors (the department’s number is 88). “Tourism is a big business,” said a spokesman. “During lockdown, everything was shut and this is a way of trying to give our people a boost at a time when they need one.”

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Visit Landes

In the Landes department 3,000 holidaymakers, on a first come, first served basis, will get back €150 for stays between June and November 29, apart from in high season from July 25 to August 21. Visitors who register at tourismelandes.com and then book through the site or the site of a local tourist office will be eligible and obtain the cash on their return home, after sending in receipts for accommodation, restaurant meals and visits or tourist activities.

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