May Business Lunch

FIBA was honoured to welcome Catherine Romeyer at our business lunch in May.

Catherine is the head of Smart Tourism (tourisme responsable) at Lyon’s tourist office.

Did you know that Lyon was the first European city to be awarded the status of European Capital of Smart Tourism when this title was introduced in 2019? An amazing coup!

It was fascinating to learn of the pioneering strategies being adopted in Lyon to make tourism in the area more sustainable. The key words that sum up the approach to tourism are: sustainable (Lyon now features in the Global Destinations Sustainability Index), inclusive, local, low-carbon, reasonable, innovative, respectful and serene.

Lyon wishes to be attractive to visitors, but does not wish to be overrun by tourists (we all know European destinations where there is great tension between locals and tourists). The attractiveness is based on coming to an area that is welcoming and encourages longer stays, with a lower environmental impact.

Lyon is also keenly developing local tourism. How well do we know the city and the 59 communes that make up the Métropole? Why drive or fly somewhere when there is so much for us all to do locally?

Follow this link to discover more:

Our sincere thanks to Catherine and here’s to Lyon’s continued success as a vibrant and green destination!

Slides from the presentation can be downloaded here :