Lord of the Manna

Gumiel is the Mayor of Vallauris and since 2009 he has been the President of the Comité Régional du Tourisme Riviera Côte d'Azur (CRT). Although tourism is the most important economic factor in the department, Gumiel and his team of 27 members of staff have had to cope with fewer resources in 2010. "If you look at the worldwide financial situation everyone is cutting back," he says. Despite the downturn, 2010 has been a successful year for the Côte d'Azur. The prestigious ‘Rendez-vous en France’ convention brought together tourism experts from all over the world to Nice in March. The number of luxury 5-star hotels grew to 24, providing guests with a selection of 2727 rooms and 5500 beds.

"Obviously the Côte d'Azur is not the only destination to choose from, but nowadays people are looking for a little more than just a beach," Gumiel claims. "Therefore we need something different to present to people, such as our quality of life, our culture and all of our events." He adds. Gumiel considers the Côte d'Azur to be years ahead of the competitors in terms of what's on offer.

As President of the French Riviera Cruise Club, Gumiel is keen to tap into the potential of the cruise trade. He successfully persuaded the illustrious Seatrade Med convention to come to Cannes in December and would like the Riviera to claim a sizeable stake in the cruise industry's 17 billion euro annual turnover. Currently 750,000 passengers each year step off the cruise ships in the ports of Nice, Villefranche, Cannes and Golfe-Juan. "Every visitor is spending between 60 and 100 euros per day, and if we create a good impression then maybe they'll come back," he says with a smile.

Business tourism is another section of the industry that interests Gumiel. "Cannes has the wonderful Palais des Festivals that pulls in several international conventions. Antibes is in the process of building a congress centre and we should build one in Nice too."

Gumiel concludes that if he had a magic wand he'd wave it over the Côte so he could have more tourists here all year round.            

TD