Label "destination of excellence" : "Yes we need it"recognizes the president of the French Association of Master Restaurateurs

“Yes we need it”, recognizes Alain Fontaine, chef, owner of the restaurant “Le Mesturet” in Paris and president of the French Association of Master Restaurateurs. He was invited on Saturday April 21 on Franceinfo to react to the new label for tourism “destination of excellence”.

From May 1, tourism companies will be able to obtain this label if they guarantee “high level of quality of welcome and services” and a “high level of requirements in terms of sustainable development and environmental protection”, according to a decree published on Saturday. The system is managed by Atout France.

For Alain Fontaine this “state label” encompassing “the hotel industry or even restaurants is important so that tourists know that the State is interested in this economy”. Alain Fontaine believes that“it was not normal that the ‘Tourism Quality’ label [qui existe depuis 2005] only interests 5,000 professionals in the sector, this needed to be boosted”.

He recognizes that the “Quality tourism” label was “a little old” and “new things have happened” as “anti-waste, charging electric cars in the parking lots of certain hotels and certain restaurants or even accessibility which was not at the center of the debate in 2005. This is part of the services that we must”.

But, according to the restaurateur, for it to work, “the State must take charge of this label in terms of communication”.