20 years of the Millau viaduct: what were the impacts of the structure on the economy and tourism of South Aveyron ?
|Le viaduc a mis Millau sur la carte et continue d'être un élément fort du tourisme du Sud Aveyron. Midi Libre – B.C
Initially criticized, the Millau viaduct allowed South Aveyron to attract European tourists to the south of the department. But was this to the detriment of the city center of the glove city? ?
“The viaduct is going to kill Millau”, chanted a handful of men, women and politicians more than twenty years ago, before the giant of the valley took its place in the daily life of the people of Millau. The fear, especially for businesses, was that no one would pass through the centre, stop there and buy anything.
It must be said that the "Bouchon de Millau" has benefited a number of them, including the Brasserie du Mandarous, located on the eponymous square. Antoine Boubal, former owner of the place, remembers the crowds on his terrace. "Before the viaduct, we had a lot of people with the bouchon. People would stop and consume, specifies the one who retired on January 1st. We were doing a good turnover."
And during construction ? "The economic repercussions were there, especially with the departures of tourist buses to visit the construction site that were made right in front. They were always full! ", rewinds Antoine Boubal, seated coffee in hand at a table in his former business.
Construction site tourism
Even before its existence, the Viaduct attracted a good number of tourists. Nearly 500,000 visitors over three years followed the construction site, which began in December 2001 and was completed in December 2004. And 130,000 were added to the list in the last five months alone.
Laetitia Raison-Robert, now deputy director of the Millau Grands Causses tourist office, was at that time a guide for Christian Combemale's travel agency. From the Mandarous, he sent tourist buses to the construction site to see the work up close.
“These visits were set up from the first weeks of construction. I remember that as I went along, when I pointed out the piles, my head would rise more and more, smiles the former guide. It was really a marker.”
“It does not distort the landscape”
Certainly the viaduct has been able to take advantage of its reputation by offering unusual visits, but after its inauguration what happened ? Has Millau's city centre really suffered from this new neighbour ?
For Antoine Boubal, it's clear: yes. “After just a few months, we saw the difference. I could see it in the number of croissants we were selling and the terrace that wasn't as full”, says this local boy. However, he qualifies his statement. “This Viaduct was necessary. It has completely opened up the region. Especially since it doesn't spoil the landscape.”
A landscape that has not lost its splendor, precisely, in a territory where gorges, valleys and hikes are numerous. A regional attraction, also arousing the interest of European tourists.
“It has allowed Millau to be positioned on a map”
On the side of the deputy director of the Millau tourist office, Laetitia Raisin-Robert, it is certain: the great causses attract interest, not having only the concrete giant to offer. “The viaduct has made it possible to make the city known, to position it on a map, and to say that Millau is not just a traffic jam”, she argues.
Today, the building continues to attract and tourists also come to the south of the department for “its landscaped side and the outdoor activities that the gorges and surrounding area have to offer”, explains the tourism specialist.
Would enjoy the surrounding area more
A finding shared by Anne Delagnes, manager of the Jolain leather goods store, Place du Mandarous. “I see in my customers that it is not the same that before, she explains. The first 4-5 years after the inauguration people came to Millau for the viaduct. Today, people also come for the surroundings of Millau."
Adding a nuance to the interest of tourists in one of the emblems of Millau – namely leather – the shopkeeper specifies that today, the clientele attracted by Millau and its surroundings does not pay much attention to it.
“Before, people came for the gloves and the great outdoors. Today, they come mainly for the great outdoors. I see it in my clientele, it is not the same type of purchase because the mentality is different. She is less interested, for a question of state of mind, in luxury items and leather."
Does the viaduct then benefit more the whole of the causses rather than just the town of Millau ? This is surely evidenced by the growing number of businesses in the neighbouring towns. The craze aroused by what has become the new emblem of Millau, linking the Larzac plateau to the causse rouge via the A75, has repercussions on the sites of southern Aveyron, such as the Roquefort cellars which have seen, in recent years, their attendance jump.
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