Alpcity

Local endogenous development
and urban regeneration of small alpine towns

Summary:



WP5 Saint-Maurice

Future & Tourism Saint-Maurice


Case-project abstract

Analysis and modeling of a participative process for a sustainable development of tourism in the municipality of Saint-Maurice

«Future & Tourism» is a global concept in order for a municipality:

  • To evaluate its tourism potential and to define on this basis a tourism policy (a tourism strategy with an action plan)
  • To take into account the principles of sustainable development, including the participation of all the stakeholders (local authorities, companies, tourist organisations, owners of secondary homes, tourists, population...)
  • To promote a constructive discussion between the stakeholders and so to increase the acceptance of the measures contained in the action plan
  • To make the indigenous population aware of the importance of tourism
Reasons for the choice of this case-project

The main reasons are:

  • size of the municipality
  • willingness of the municipality to be a pilot case
  • possibility to generalize the results of the project

Adopted methodology

Participatory approach with workshops and questionnaires


Expected benefits (local and regional levels)

Setup of a tourism strategy and an action plan in order to develop the tourism activities in Saint-Maurice


Are follow-up activities foreseen ?

No


Expected value added (other than financial) from the participation to an INTERREG project

Setup of a tourism strategy and an action plan in order to develop the tourism activities in Saint-Maurice

Reinforcement of the community by developing a project (development of tourism activities) which can give a new dynamism to St-Maurice which is currently suffering from a kind of "looser" syndrome.


Output indicators

Setup of a tourism policy (strategy and action plan)


Impact indicators

The impacts of the pilot case St-Maurice will only be measurable after the end of the AlpCity project.


Name of the town/s concerned

St-Maurice


Demographic, social and economic situation of the town/s concerned and specifically identified problems

As already mentioned traditional employers such as the army or the Swiss railway company have suppressed a lot of jobs this last decade and the municipality want to attract small and middle enterprises and to develop tourist activities.


Role of the mountain resource within the local development chances of the town/s concerned (positive or negative)

What do you mean with "mountain resource"?


Expected contribution of the foreseen actions towards the development of the town/s concerned

With the realization of the process Future & Tourism, the municipality of St-Maurice hope to give a great impulse to the development of tourism on its territory. That's mean more revenues for the local economy but also a better quality of life for the inhabitants (better urbanization and more animation).


Who is the responsible for the concrete development of the project?

The Institute of Economy & Tourism of the Haute école valaisanne (HEVs) is the scientific partner responsible for the process Future & Tourism in St-Maurice.


How are activities sub-contracted?

No sub-contract


Beside the partner, which administrative authorities are involved in the project? How?

The canton of Valais finance one part of the pilot case


Who are the main local/regional project actors?
  • local authorities
  • tourist companies
  • tourist organisations
  • "Société de développement de St-Maurice" ("Development Agency of St-Maurice" which is a private organization)
  • Environmental and local NGOs

Are there important actors who are not integrated or are opposing the project?

No


The case is isolated or integrated within a broader frame/ programme of activities? How? How are these activities being financed?

Isolated case


Timetable for the project development (July 2004 - May 2006)

July 2004 - Nov. 2004: contacts and preparation of the process with the Department of Economy & Tourism of St-Maurice and the "Société de développement de St-Maurice"

Dez. 2004 - March 2005: interviews with the political and the tourist leaders

April 2005 - Sept. 2005: questionnaires to the visitors (tourists)

Oct. 2005 - Dez. 2005: workshops with all the stakeholders to carry out a tourism strategy and an action plan

January 2006 - May 2006: validation of the strategy and the action plan, publication of a final report


Are experts (non SSC) involved into the case and research activities undertaken for the case? What is their role?

Yes, experts from the Institute Economy & Tourism of the HEVs. As already mentioned, they follow all the process in St-Maurice






e-mail: alpcity@regione.piemonte.it