How do you stand out as a territory in a competitive landscape like the Caribbean?

La Riviera des îles de Guadeloupe is an alliance of 4 communes in the south of Grande Terre, making up the No. 1 tourist area on the Guadeloupe islands. From Gosier to La Désirade, via Sainte-Anne and Saint-François, the Riviera des Îles de Guadeloupe is a wonderful territory for experiences. The territory’s beaches (Dacha, Raisins Clairs, Bois Jolan, plage à fifi to name but a few) line most of the coastline facing the Caribbean Sea, protected by the lagoon.

Remarkable or protected natural sites abound throughout the region: Pointe des Châteaux, Ilet Gosier, Petite Terre islands, Grands Fonds, Désirade Geological Reserve…

How do you stand out as a territory in a competitive landscape like the Caribbean?

Today we meet Priscillia Wachter, General Manager of the Riviera des Iles de Guadeloupe.

1- Could you briefly introduce yourself and the mission of the Guadeloupe Islands Riviera Tourist Office?

A 34-year-old Guadeloupean, I’ve been Director of the Riviera des Îles de Guadeloupe Intercommunal Tourist Office since 2021. With a background in Communications and Marketing, and a passion for travel, during my Master’s degree I specialized in territorial development, with a view to working in the tourism industry. We’re a team of 11 people, divided between administration, HR and accounting, production, customer relationship management, classification of meublés de tourisme and quality and communication.

The mission of the Guadeloupe Riviera des Îles Tourist Office is to promote the Guadeloupe Riviera des Îles destination. The Riviera des Îles de Guadeloupe destination is an alliance of 4 Guadeloupe communes located in the Grande Terre area: Gosier, Saint-Anne, Saint-François and Désirade. Our main mission is to welcome and inform visitors, and to promote the region’s natural, cultural, heritage and gastronomic assets.

2- Who are your main customers and targets?

Our main targets are, of course, visitors to Guadeloupe, but we also make it a point of honor to enable our local residents to rediscover their territory.

3- What is the region’s identity? What are its assets?

From Gosier to Désirade, via Saint-François and Sainte-Anne, La Riviera des îles de Guadeloupe is :

• 62 km of coastline,
• 3 islands,
• 2 marinas,
• over 30 sports and leisure activities,
• 80 professionals at the service of our visitors,
• 3 watersports centers (the communes of Gosier, Saint-Anne and Saint-François are certified by France Station Nautique)
• 1 port
  
  

But it’s also a culture, traditions, landscapes, natural and historical heritage that deserve to be discovered or rediscovered.

4- In October, you organized a press trip and a blogtrip.

During the press trip, 6 journalists discovered the Riviera des Îles de Guadeloupe.

• 20 articles published
• Nearly 27 million contacts reached

Concerning the blogtrip 5 Lifestyle and travel influencers went on a trip to promote the destination. They all have great communities on Instagram and helped spread the word about the destination.

• 3,396,773 people reached in total
• 84,542 interactions generated on bloggers’ posts
• All stories and posts have been viewed more than 3,581,802 times
• 3,344 clicks on links and stickers published in stories on partner sites

5- Why did you choose to work with Travel-Insight for your communications?

Travel insight, a communications agency specializing in the tourism industry, has demonstrated over the last few years its ability to accompany and propel destinations in their ascension. Thanks to the wide range of tourism players the agency supports today, we are able to take a 360° view of the actions required to develop the brand awareness of this young destination, the Riviera des îles de Guadeloupe. The recent press trips and blogtrips we developed with the agency are a fine example of this.

6- Do you have any future projects to share with us?

La Riviera des Iles de Guadeloupe is a very young office, so we have a number of projects to build and strengthen the structure. This includes a project to completely overhaul all our reception offices. Our aim is to have reception areas that are adapted to the new ways in which our visitors behave: more dynamic, more interactive.

7- What message would you like to convey to tourism professionals?

Having just emerged from two years of covid crisis, this period has highlighted the resilience of the tourism industry, and more specifically of its players. On the strength of this learning and newfound strength, 2023 is now a year of reinvention and adaptation. We need to listen to the expectations of our visitors, and provide them with offers that match their desires for authenticity, escape, encounters, adventure and sustainability, while taking into account changes in our environment…. And we have to do it together!

8 – The final word?

The Riviera des îles de Guadeloupe is an area rich in heritage and culture. More than just a seaside resort with its countless magnificent white sandy beaches, the Riviera des îles de Guadeloupe is the ideal place for travelers in search of unusual experiences. Join us on this new journey off the beaten track…and stay tuned, we’ve got some great surprises in store for you in the New Year. I also invite our Tour Operator partners who read this article to get in touch with us to discover our new offers in the region 😉