Let's talk about Couserans 2024 Future Mountain Meetings

Looking back on April 5, 2024
Jean Nayrou Room – Lambrilles Holiday Village
in La Bastide-de-Sérou.

General report

For this second edition, our major tourism event in Couserans “Let’s talk about Couserans” was carried out in partnership with Avenir Montagnes: an engineering system aimed at supporting mountain areas towards a sustainable transition in tourism.

Through a day dedicated to the crucial theme of sustainable tourism, more than 80 participants (socio-professionals, elected officials, technicians) were able to benefit from conferences, activities and workshops in co-construction, in a friendly manner and with respect for everyone.

Morning: expert speakers on the challenges of tomorrow's tourism!

• The official opening of the day was provided by Jean-Paul Cazes – President of the Couserans Pyrénées Tourist Office (OTCP); Jocelyne Fert – Vice-President of the Couserans Pyrénées community of communes (representing President Mr. Vigneau), Vice-President of the Ariège Pyrenees Regional Natural Park and elected representative of Avenir Montagnes Ingénierie and Thomas Bunel – Deputy Commissioner for the Pyrenees Massif.
  
• The day's program was presented by Sarah Ozolins – Director of the OTCP, by Emilie Leturcq – Project Manager Avenir Montagnes and by Loïc Coissin – Master of Ceremonies and facilitator of the MONA.

• LDNA Tourism's prospective scenarios
  The ADN Tourisme prospective commission has been working since 2020 on the definition of a prospective object accurate :“How changes in tourist behavior will impact institutional tourism organizations in their ecosystems by 2033”.
  4 scenarios were therefore imagined and Loïc Coissin gives us a summary:

• Presentation of the Climsnow tool
  ClimSnow is a tool developed by Météo France engineers that allows for the impact of climate change to be taken into account in forward-looking thinking about the development and transitions of mountain areas. Guzet has just launched this study to prepare for its future as a mountain resort. How does it work and what is it for?

• Challenges and prospects for a tourist transition in mountain areas, by Pierre Torrente – Director of the Pyrenean Tourism Campus, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, President of the Mountain Territories Transition Association. CERTOP, UMR 5044, CNRS:

• Focus on Outdoor and Cycling Activities in Ariège by Caroline Bayard, Outdoor Project Manager at the Ariège Tourism Development Agency (ADT):

• Intervention-testimony with video projection by Gaëtan Clary of IC Studio, a sports management team comprising three World Cup DH (downhill) mountain bike riders based in Ariège: mountain bikers Thomas Estaque, Hugo Frixtalon and Matteo Iniguez.

Afternoon: workshops

• The aim was to discuss these important topics together and, why not, to pique your interest in finding us in the various bodies and working groups that are working and will be working on these issues in the coming months. We have experienced a moment of concrete collective work for our destination thanks to 5 thematic workshops, specified below.
  We spread out into various rooms in the Jean Nayrou Hall and the Les Lambrilles Holiday Village, who was kind enough to open two beautiful rooms in this fully renovated accommodation.

• Workshop No. 1: Mobility with the Play-Mobil game (from Cerema), hosted by Julien Solé (l'Arbre mobile)
  • Play-Mobile is a serious game at the intersection of mobility and planning. The workshop was an opportunity to test the new version of the game for less densely populated areas, with a board representing a valley composed of roads and destinations to reach (campsite, resort, train station, town, etc.). The workshop brought together 10 players from diverse backgrounds: mobility service at the community of communes, tourist office and tourism development agency, hiking federation, equestrian lodge, campsite. Each player took on a particular profile that induces a specific mobility behavior, for example by favoring a mode: pedestrian, bicycle, car, public transport. Each player's objective was to complete as many journeys as possible, while avoiding accidents. Events such as roadworks and transhumance disrupted the players' "all car" strategies. Along the way, the players were led to work together to put in place suitable arrangements in a more pleasant living environment, as well as to test active, shared, and less polluting forms of mobility.

• Atelier No. 2: Sharing the mountain led by the Ariège Pyrenees Regional Natural Park
  • Does sharing the mountain sound familiar? Around fifteen stakeholders from all walks of life came together to schematically map the spaces, stakeholders, and practices, all facilitated by the Regional Natural Park. The goal was to raise awareness of multi-use, to mitigate our certainties and our sometimes reductive or biased visions, and to visualize the absolute necessity of consultation, towards a harmoniously shared mountain.

• Atelier No. 3: The future of Pyrenean mountain resorts
  • Pierre Torrente (ISTHIA) and Emilie Leturcq (Avenir Montagnes) led this participatory workshop on 'The Future of Pyrenean Mountain Resorts'. The general climate situation in France was examined in depth with the expertise of the ABEST Horizon firm and data from the Climsnow studies. With around fifteen participants, a constructive and dispassionate dialogue ensued on the challenges of reconfiguring mountain resorts.

• Atelier No. 4: Eco-responsible events
  • The workshop was led by Anthony Bourgoin, who runs an Events Club within the tourist office with the organizers of Couserans. We have a wealth of entertainment and events in this region, with over a hundred associations. This offering is one of the advantages of living in Couserans, but also one of the additional attractiveness assets for our visitors. Positioning Couserans as a green destination also requires shared responsibility for the impact of this sector. The goal was for organizers to get to know each other, to share their experiences with each other about the practices they are implementing to promote a more eco-responsible culture, and to inspire each other. Five testimonies from organizers initiated discussions with the fifteen participants.

• Workshop No. 5: The Tourism DNA Scenarios Workshop
  • Loïc Coissin of MONA led an innovative workshop on the futures of tourism! The four scenarios briefly presented in the morning were explored in depth: from trends to radical disruptions, ranging from 'immobile changes' to 'liberal futures'. The experience was immersive, drawing out possible futures for tourism by deconstructing traditional patterns. The objective was to identify ways to reinvent more sustainable, inclusive, and innovative destinations and thus try to adapt to the demands of tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who made this day possible, constructive and enjoyable!

Intervenants:

• Loïc COISSIN, Master of Ceremonies and facilitator of La Mona
• For the ClimSnow tool: Xavier TRANCHANT from ABEST Horizons
• Pierre TORRENTE, Director of the Pyrenean Tourism Campus, Toulouse Jean Jaurès University and President of the Mountain Territories Transition Association
• Caroline BAYARD, Tourism Engineering Manager, Outdoor Activities Development
• Gaëtan CLARY from IC Studio
• Julien SOLÉ from the consulting firm L'Arbre Mobile
• Laure LETARD, sustainable tourism project manager, David PASIN and, Natura 2000 project managers of the Ariège Pyrenees Regional Natural Park
• Pierre GAU, from the Art'Cade association
• Franck DEFFARGES of APF France Handicap Ariège, for the Green Manifestation label
• Philippe BOURGES from the Bethmalais association,
• Ivanne MARTIN from the waste department of the Couserans Pyrénées Community of Communes,
• Elodie LA ORDEN from the Culture and Heritage department of the Couserans Pyrénées Community of Communes
• Catherine GALEY-LABAUTHE from the Saint-Girons Festival Committee

Meals, refreshments, service and entertainment: 

• At Victor's
• The Ham Attic
• The Gourmet Mill
• Soum Bakery
• The Orge Folle brewery
• The Cadeillac Estate
• The Land of Traces
• Alysée's World
• O Good Tea from Ivine
• The music group Saxobar

Some of our commitments for the day

• Reusable wool neck warmers from the Pyrenees, like badges
• Local, even ultra-local, food (meat from La Bastide de Sérou for the veal blanquette!), local drinks,
• Water in carafes, reusable cups stamped OT Couserans Pyrénées
• A local music group (Engomer)
• Train travel for speakers, carpooling encouraged
• Recycling is carried out on site, using bins and containers provided by the waste service of the Couserans Pyrénées community of communes.
• A plant decoration in partnership with Mother Nature and the invasive ivy that she kindly gave us!
• The Georges and Georgettes as cutlery, because we also have a local inventor!
• A “relational ecology”: listening, respect and “benevolence” (even if this word is increasingly overused) are ensured by a framework which allows dialogue, exchange and constructive debate.

Thanks also to all the little hands at the Tourist Office and the Community of Communes who helped make the day run smoothly. Thanks to the commune of Bastide de Sérou and the Lambrilles holiday village for lending us their rooms.

And finally, a big thank you to all our service providers, elected officials, and tourism stakeholders for their dynamic participation, their unwavering motivation, and the valuable contributions they made. This day was made exceptional thanks to all of you. Thank you again, and see you soon for more collective reflections!

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