Arnaud Vaultier, a “diligent outdoor enthusiast” at the head of the Millau Grands Causses Tourist Office

Laetitia Raisin-Robert, deputy director of OT Millau Grands Causses, Christian Forir, (president), Arnaud Vaultier (director), Arnaud Curvelier (vice-president of com'com), Emmanuelle Gazel, Nicolas Wohrel (municipal councilor, assistant for culture) A.D.

Former director of the Grand Orb tourist office, Arnaud Vaultier has just officially installed himself at the head of the Millau Grands Causses tourist office.

Successor to Frédéric Hideux, Arnaud Vaultier has just officially installed himself at the head of the Millau Grands Causses tourist office. Left vacant since October 2023 following the departure – for personal reasons – of his predecessor, the position of director is therefore no longer vacant. 

A blessing for President Christian Forir first "worried" about Frédéric's departure Hideous but today fully reassured given the profile of the new director. "Recruitment was quick enough to prepare for the season and continue with the same enthusiasm. I think we made the right choice, summarizes the mayor of Rivière-sur -Tarn. Arnaud will continue the dynamic started by his predecessor and his teams by, of course, putting his touch and his personality into it." 

As a neighbor…

Having attended the management school of the Paris-Est Créteil and Gustave Eiffel universities, Arnaud Vaultier has solid experience in the field, having been responsible for the supervision and management of 13 agents in 4 tourist information offices and the development of the overall strategy for the promotion and enhancement of the Grand Orb destination.

A neighbor who knows his new playground precisely to practice it regularly – the dynamic quadra being also a consumer "assiduous" outdoor, trail, mountain biking, and nature raids recently. 

He confirms: "I come from a territory that is not very far from here. I worked between Caroux and Salagou while being based in the Grand Orb territory, where two thermal spas are located (Lamalou-les-Bains and Avène) and where we developed a big section on outdoor activities, notably with the creation of an outdoor center in 2017. On the lower part, our objective was to be a little Millau. We even hosted an event, the Carroux Outdoor, with the aim of becoming a sort of small Natural Games festival…" 

"Huge stakes"

In short, an ideal profile to launch a particularly busy 2024 season. Passage of the Olympic flame in May, anniversary of the Templar Festival, the Millau Viaduct… For the new director – eagerly awaited – the desire will be to "to make everything foam that" to generate a "huge influx of visitors to the territory". 

Labeled Terre de Jeux 2024, the city of Millau – like Saint-Affrique with the Brazilian women's rugby sevens team – will also welcome a delegation for an upstream preparation course of the planetary event. Five South African athletes and their staff are already expected in the city of gloves in two disciplines: climbing and athletics.

Extend the length of stays

Confronted, as everywhere else, with a decline in tourist attendance – with shorter and shorter stays – the new director also says he wants to do everything possible to change this trend .

"The problem with outdoor activities is that we very often find ourselves on a profile of people who do not necessarily use accommodation for several nights", remarks Arnaud Vaultier for whom it is now"necessary" to associate gastronomy, heritage, art and culture and outdoor activities to extend the length of stays. Don't forget to court the “business” clientele

Ambitious, he who has lived in Montpellier for a long time has set himself the objective of capturing this metropolitan clientele. A potential of 290,000 inhabitants – the equivalent of the population of Aveyron! – for whom the "destination Aveyron" is more of a hostile and remote no man's land. "Naturally, the Montpellier traveler goes to the Gorges de l'Hérault and stops at Salagou or Mourèze. Some come, but I think we have to go get them. Even more!"

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