Classified Tourist Office

Tourist Offices are organizations of tourist promotion whose legal regime is provided in the code of tourism. They contribute to facilitating the stay of tourists in the tourist communes
tourist resorts and all other tourist destinations.

As the showcase of tourist areas, they play an important role in the attractiveness and competitiveness of "destination France".

They carry out four public service missions:
 

• Reception
• Information
• Tourism promotion
• Coordination of local tourism stakeholders

They can also, under certain conditions, market tourism products, operate facilities, organize events and participate in the design and implementation of local tourism policy and tourism action programs.

The Tourist Offices are established by deliberation of the local authority competent in the promotion of tourism and the creation of Tourist Offices. Since the promulgation of
the law of August 7, 2015 for a new territorial organization of the Republic (known as the NOTRe law), this competence belongs by right to the establishments of intermunicipal cooperation (EPCI).

The local authority approves the statutes of the Tourist Office, determines the organizational methods and sets the composition of the deliberative body of the Tourist Office (Management Committee) by specifying the number of elected representatives from the local authority and the number of socio-professionals.

The Tourist Offices can be classified as part of a voluntary process. The classification is a powerful lever to strengthen their federative role with regard to the action to develop in their geographical area of intervention and allows communities to access certain advantages: the classification of the tourist office in category II allows the the municipalities in its area of competence to obtain the designation of tourist municipality and the classification in category I allows access to the classification as a tourist resort which constitutes the recognition of a reception of excellence.

More information on the website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance:

www.entreprises.gouv.fr/fr/tourisme/developpement-et-competitivite-du-secteur/offices-de-tourisme