- In Strasbourg, the tourist windfall sharpens financial and political appetites. The report on vitriol piloted by the former deputy Yves Bur recommends to transfer to the only Eurométropole the management of the tourist policy.
- In the crosshairs of the elected official, the Strasbourg tourist office (OSTR) and its governance.
- "We are doing very well, Yves Bur is slipping completely," said the president of the OSTR Jean-Jacques Gsell, referring to "thinking about a criminal complaint for defamation" against the mayor of Lingolsheim.
In Strasbourg, the tourist windfall sharpens financial and political appetites. Each year, the 4 million tourists who admire the splendours of the Alsatian capital and sleep in one of the 47,000 hotel beds in the agglomeration, generating 500 million euros in turnover and 15 million euros in revenue tax for the agglomeration.
Does tourism policy revert to the city or to the Eurometropolis? Approaching the municipal level, the question rebounds with the publication of a vitriolic report piloted by the former deputy and mayor of Lingolsheim (Various right) Yves Bur.
"The Office is in splendid isolation"
The report is coupled with an internal audit to the community unveiled just before the vote of the annual grants to the Strasbourg tourist office (OSTR) and to its flagship event "Strasbourg Mon Amour". According to the report of the Bur mission, only the Eurometropolis should finance tourism, without the municipality. In the crosshairs of the elected official, the Strasbourg tourist office (OSTR) and its governance.
"The OSTR shines through its isolation", "the time for thanks, in every sense of the word, from the president and the director has come", "we have the impression that the Office is in splendid isolation". The audit evokes "budgetary insincerities" and situations akin to an "illegal taking of interests". Except that no complaint has been made at this stage.
What do the respondents think? The president of the tourist office, Jean-Jacques Gsell, also elected municipal, defends his balance sheet: "We are doing very well, Yves Bur slips completely", he declares, evoking "thinking about a criminal complaint for defamation ”against the mayor of Lingolsheim. The Bur mission calls for the Eurometropolis agents to resume the OSTR missions. Its workforce went from one to two agents in early 2020 against 31 employees for the tourist office to date.
Could this fight for control of tourism policy have an impact on visitors? "Tourists don't care who does what, they just want to visit Strasbourg and Alsace," says Jean-Jacques Gsell. Shouldn't the tourist office change its governance? "The board of directors is made up of 80% of recognized professionals, it is a pledge of competence", he continues.
What future for this report? By the very admission of their authors, it is suspended at the whim of the new majority resulting from the elections. In other words, it could end up in a box. The festivities of "Strasbourg mon amour" are already planned for this Friday, February 7.
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- Strasbourg
- Tourism
- Agglomeration