AIVP recently attended the 4th cooperation meeting of planning offices for the Seine Valley. The event is intended to provide a forum for exchanges and allow participants to gauge the development of river and maritime tourism, while gaining a better understanding of the role that can be played by local and regional authorities and stakeholders. 
For the offices concerned (APUR, AUCAME, AURBSE, AURH et IAU IDF) the meeting was an opportunity to present the results of their joint work, namely the the study of river and maritime tourism in the Seine Valley, and also the immense efforts made to make data available by means of interactive, easily accessible and user-friendly maps.
The topic of river tourism in the Seine Valley, although marginal in terms of the number of stopovers and its modest economic impact for the region, nonetheless remains a controversial issue on which no progress is possible without dialogue. This was confirmed by the discussions that took place at the meeting, which served to highlight the tensions around pollution by vessels, waste management, logistics and traffic, social acceptance, or the lack of direct economic benefits for the region (no overnight stays, no food service). Despite this, the participants took the opportunity to meet and discuss the challenges to be tackled and the solutions already identified, to make this niche tourism segment a genuine, green and virtuous economic market generating benefits for all.
As underlined by the director of AUCAME, Patrice DUNY, in order for the cruise business to develop in harmony with its host territory, three conditions for City Port coordination must be met:
- Fluidity;
- Beauty: at the interface between the city and port, spaces must be not just functional but aesthetically pleasing;
- Acceptability.
AIVP agrees wholeheartedly with this conclusion.
