Le Routard publishes new guide to PACA local business

Published this month, the La Visite d’entreprise en Provence – Alpes – Côte d’Azur guide from Hachette seeks to show a new crafts-based approach to tourist visits to the area, with a significant proportion of those who travel to the region every month said to be looking for something off the usual ‘beaten track’ sites that are unique to the region itself, as reported by French news source France 3.

Over 13 million people visited the region in 2016, of which 2.5 million were deemed to be especially interested in learning more about the local businesses in the area in particular, according to Le Routard.

In a bid to boost this trade and increase sales, the new guide shows behind-the-scenes at over 100 artisanal factories and shops across many different industries, including perfume makers, soap makers, sweet producers, ceramic craftspeople, and wine producers.

The region’s food and drink sector appears to be thriving especially, with wine and spirit tastings particularly popular, as well as food producers offering tastings and tours that form part of the local culinary ‘know-how’ and history, and products of the ‘terroir’.

Over 90% of visitor centres, factories and workshops that offer visits have a shop at the end of the visit, and figures show that visitors are 2.5 times’ more likely to buy from a shop if they have toured the premises and understood the manufacturing process first.

The top 5 businesses visited in the PACA region are the glass factory Verrerie de Biot; the sweet company Confiserie Florian; the lavender site La Musée de la Lavande; the pottery Ravel; and the sweet site Confiserie du Roy René.