At the beginning of 2018, in a context of territorial reorganisation and redistribution of the competences of the communities, the Park re-examined its tourism positioning. With the support of the tourism engineering company Atemia, it was able to identify the territory's identity markers and develop a positioning and a concrete 5-year roadmap.
The result was a global and ambitious project for the territory. Clarifying and affirming its strategic position in terms of tourism by defining itself as a "territorial tourist product" serving the departmental and regional tourist destinations.
Based on the geological uniqueness of the Park, a new initiative has been defined around 3 concepts:
To make the Normandy-Maine Regional Nature Park a UNESCO Global Geopark.
To specialise in hosting scientific trips for amateurs.
To develop a network of geo-sites in an impressive and meaningful way.
The Park and Geopark's Tourism Promise
"A future UNESCO Geopark in the heart of the Normandy and Loire bocages, for an active learning of the earth's riches and an enchanting discovery of vertiginous landscapes".
The application to the UNESCO World Geopark
The application was sent in November 2019 to UNESCO.
To learn more about the application process: click here.
Facilitate the hosting of scientific trips
Since 2008, the Normandy-Maine Park has been strongly involved in the awareness and development of its geological heritage. As a result, it identified many sites suitable for geological discovery and explanation. The Park is also the manager/facilitator of two Regional Geological Reserves.
The objective is to allow the numerous university centres in the west of France working on this theme (Caen, Le Mans, Nantes, Rennes, Paris, Rouen, Poitiers, etc.) to use the territory as a research and study area.
Tourist facilities
The uniqueness of the territory, marked by its ridges and rocky outcrops, is conducive to offering a strong visitor experience for family tourism customers. The Park will therefore propose the development of geosites that allow everyone to appreciate the unique landscapes on the territory.
The Park will also contribute to the creation of marketing content that serve the tourism strategies of the departmental and regional development agencies in line with the "Regional Nature Park" values.
Geoproducts
In order to promote the Normandy-Maine Geopark, products will be created with the aim of making the tourists and stakeholders feel part of this ambitious project, which reflects the values of the Normandy-Maine Regional Nature Park.