February 13, 2020, Îles de la Madeleine - Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine will have established the new tourism strategy of the destination for the next five years by June 2020.

This strategy will be developed in partnership with the Groupe de recherche et d'intervention tourisme territoire et société (GRITTS), under the leadership of Dominic Lapointe, professor at the School of Management's Tourism and Urban Studies Department (UQAM) and new research chair on Tourism Dynamics and Socioterritorial Relations (UQAM).

The 2020-2025 tourism strategy will be based on three main components:

• the sustainable development  and management of the territory, flow management (to and at the destination), visitor capacity, governance, etc;
• the development and structuring of products and experiences associated with the destination's identity and the expansion of the tourism season;
• the promotion of the destination and the products/experiences selected based on the target audience.

The strategic planning will include the following steps:

• assessing the situation: meetings with the tourism stakeholders of the region, an analysis of similar destinations, a study on tourism trends, etc.;
• consulting the members:
o meetings per industry sector during the week of March 23;
o activity with the members and partners on April 22;
• presenting an overview of the strategy: during the launch of the tourism season on May 21.

It should be noted that this process complements the public consultations on tourism conducted by the Communauté maritime des Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It allows the tourism industry and population to speak about the issues surrounding the archipelago's tourism development. To this end, the Tourism Association invites the local community to participate in the online survey and public meetings organized by the working group on tourism development.

All of this information will feed into the destination's next tourism strategy and allow the local stakeholders to establish a shared vision consistent with the Tourism Association's mission, that is: bring together its members and community to facilitate the welcoming of visitors, promotion and tourism development, in line with both the environment and inhabitants.

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For interviews:
Michel Bonato
Director General
Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine
418-986-2245, ext. 225
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Damien Deraspe
President
Tourisme Îles de la Madeleine
418-937-8697