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Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France) Work Package 9 Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF) Contract: 2014CE16BAT034 October 2015 Author: Laura Delponte
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Page 1: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

June 2015 1

Culture and Tourism

Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES

(France)

Work Package 9

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development

Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

Contract 2014CE16BAT034

October 2015 Author Laura Delponte

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy

Directorate B - Policy Unit B2 Evaluation and European Semester

Contact Violeta Piculescu

E-mail REGIO-B2-HEAD-OF-UNITeceuropaeu

European Commission B-1049 Brussels

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy

2016 EN

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-

2013 focusing on the

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and

the Cohesion Fund (CF)

Work Package 9 Culture and Tourism

Case Study Rhocircne-Alpes (France)

Contract 2014CE16BAT034

LEGAL NOTICE

This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (httpwwweuropaeu)

Luxembourg Publications Office of the European Union 2016

ISBN 978-92-79-58799-3 doi 102776457602

copy European Union 2016

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged

Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers

to your questions about the European Union

Freephone number ()

00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11

() The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 5

Table of Contents

FORWARD 7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9

1 THE REGIONAL CONTEXT 13

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region 13

12 The socio-economic context 14

13 Tourism and culture sectors 15

2 THE REGIONAL ERDF 2007-2013 STRATEGY IN THE CULTURE AND TOURISM SECTORS 19

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy 19

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture sectors 22

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy 23

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy 25

25 The implementation process 30

3 EFFECTIVENESS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE STRATEGY

OUTPUTS AND RESULTS 33

31 Outputs achieved 33

32 Results achieved 38

4 CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNT 41

REFERENCES 45

ANNEX 1 LIST OF PEOPLE TO INTERVIEW DURING THE WEEK 25-30 MAY 47

ANNEX 2 DATA ON THE REGIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT 48

ANNEX 3 CULTURAL AND NATURAL ASSETS OF THE RHOcircNE-ALPES

REGION 49

ANNEX 4 SITE OF CULTURAL INTEREST IN RHOcircNE-ALPES 51

ANNEX 5 KEY DATA ABOUT THE TOURISM AND CULTURE SECTORS 52

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 6

List of abbreviations

CDDRA Contrat de deacuteveloppement durable Rhocircne-Alpes

CPER Le contrat de projets Etat - Reacutegion

CRE Comiteacute de suivi drsquoeacutevaluation

CRSN Cadre de Reacutefeacuterence Strateacutegique National (National Strategic Reference

Framework)

DIRECCTE Direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la

consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi

DOMO Document de mise en œuvre

DPT (Direction des Politiques Territoriales)

DRAC Direction reacutegionale des Affaires culturelles

EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

ESF European Social Fund

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies

INSEE Institute national de statistiques et des eacutetudes eacuteconomiques (National

Statistical bureau)

OP Operational Programme

PRESAGE

POMA

POMAC

Programme Reacutegional et Europeacuteen de Suivi dAnalyse de Gestion et

dEvaluation

Programme Operationnel Pluriregional Massif des Alpes

Programme Operationnel laquo Massif Central raquo

SGAR Secreacutetariat Geacuteneacuteral pour les Affaires Reacutegionales

SRDE Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement Economique

SRDTLRA Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement du Tourism et des Loisirs Rhocircne-

Alpes (regional strategy for tourism and recreation development)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 7

Forward

The European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG

REGIO) is undertaking an ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes financed

by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

during the period 2007-2013 in regions covered by the Convergence Regional

Competitiveness amp Employment and European Territorial Cooperation objectives in 28

member states

Within this framework the Consortium IRS-CSIL-CISET-BOP has been selected to

undertake the ex post evaluation on lsquoCulture and Tourismrsquo (Work Package 9) An

important element within the exercise is a series of case-study analyses of NUTS2

regions covering interventions co-financed by ERDF during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case-studies are designed to obtain a better understanding of the ERDF

contribution to the overall objectives of CP in the culture and tourism sectors and to

set out what has been implemented on the ground with a particular focus on the

interface between the wider context of the intervention and the rationale and design of

intervention strategies In doing so the relative effectiveness of the adopted

strategies will be revealed The case-studies are designed to identify and assess the

effectiveness of the different types of ERDF strategies implemented in the culture and

tourism sectors

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF approaches to culture

and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region (FR) during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case study analysis draws upon desk and field based research The desk analysis

is based on relevant statistical data and researches describing the general socio-

economic contexts of the Rhocircne-Alpes region and the specific circumstances of the

tourism and culture sector Information was collected from various sources including

Eurostat the French National Statistical Office (Insee) and Rhocircne-Alpesrsquos regional

observatory on tourism Besides this the desk analysis included a careful review of

the relevant ERDF programming documents regional and national policy and strategy

documents for the two target sectors and the findings of a mid-term evaluation

Interviews were also conducted in a field visit to complement and validate the

information gathered through the desk analysis Interviewees were identified in

collaboration with the Managing Authority (MA) to include different types of

stakeholders (eg technical services responsible for implementing specific measures

regional authorities in charge of promoting the development of the tourism and culture

sectors beneficiaries and independent experts) The detailed list of interviewees in

presented in Annex 1

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 9

Executive summary

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF (European Regional

Development Fund) approaches to culture and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region

(FR) during the 2007-13 programming period Drawing upon a combination of

documentary and data analysis and field-work this report looks at the overall

strategic coherence and relevance of measures supporting the tourism and culture

sectors in the region It assesses the effectiveness of the co-financed interventions

with respect to the expected targets and explores the potential of wider regional

development outcomes that are brought about from support to the two sectors

Situated in south-eastern France Rhocircne-Alpes is the biggest French region and one of

the biggest regions in Europe The region is characterized by a large variety of natural

and socio-economic landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas

industrial hubs rural agricultural and mountainous areas Its economy is one of the

most dynamic of France and is comparable to those of Catalonia (ES) and Piedmont

(IT) regions The economic structure is highly diversified and is marked by a strong

albeit declining industrial tradition Territorial unbalances are a relevant issue

especially in relation to the juxtaposition between metropolitan and declining industrial

or rural areas

Following Eurostat data in 2013 the tourist sector employed 34 of the regional

labour force but the relevance of the tourist sector is unevenly distributed throughout

the region For three departments (Haut-Savoie Savoie and Ardegraveche) tourism is a

relevant source of income whereas other departments are less dependent on tourism

The tourist offer is highly diversified although the theme of sport and nature (both for

winter and summer outdoor activities) prevails Seasonality is a local rather than a

regional issue as at the regional level the tourist flows are distributed throughout the

entire calendar year The region flagship tourist attractions are the skiable resorts of

the Alpine region and the white water sport area in Ardegraveche that is where most

foreign tourists head to Local tourism in rural areas is gradually developing and most

target local demand from tourists demanding for alternative tourist experiences (eg

slow tourism) In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes

The elaboration of the ERDF strategy for culture and tourism was mostly guided by

two regional tourist strategies and development plans (ie Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL and the Plan Rhocircne) It followed

two different objectives i) diversify the economy of areas with an underdeveloped

tourism potential and ii) promoting culture and tourism along the Rhocircne river for the

purpose of building a regional identity based upon the riverrsquos cultural and historical

heritage These objectives were implemented through three separate measures i)

develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development (196 Meuro ERDF support) ii) promoting the cultural heritage and identity

of the Rhocircne river (4Meuro ERDF support) and iii) ensure the development of quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks (35 Meuro ERDF support) The two sectors

also received support from other measures of the OP although these were not

specifically targeted to culture and tourism

Justification for the public intervention was strong and mostly based on missing or

incomplete markets The OP targeted under-developed or emerging tourist areas that

were not able to attract sufficient private investments Public intervention in the field

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 2: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy

Directorate B - Policy Unit B2 Evaluation and European Semester

Contact Violeta Piculescu

E-mail REGIO-B2-HEAD-OF-UNITeceuropaeu

European Commission B-1049 Brussels

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy

2016 EN

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-

2013 focusing on the

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and

the Cohesion Fund (CF)

Work Package 9 Culture and Tourism

Case Study Rhocircne-Alpes (France)

Contract 2014CE16BAT034

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Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 5

Table of Contents

FORWARD 7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9

1 THE REGIONAL CONTEXT 13

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region 13

12 The socio-economic context 14

13 Tourism and culture sectors 15

2 THE REGIONAL ERDF 2007-2013 STRATEGY IN THE CULTURE AND TOURISM SECTORS 19

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy 19

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture sectors 22

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy 23

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy 25

25 The implementation process 30

3 EFFECTIVENESS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE STRATEGY

OUTPUTS AND RESULTS 33

31 Outputs achieved 33

32 Results achieved 38

4 CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNT 41

REFERENCES 45

ANNEX 1 LIST OF PEOPLE TO INTERVIEW DURING THE WEEK 25-30 MAY 47

ANNEX 2 DATA ON THE REGIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT 48

ANNEX 3 CULTURAL AND NATURAL ASSETS OF THE RHOcircNE-ALPES

REGION 49

ANNEX 4 SITE OF CULTURAL INTEREST IN RHOcircNE-ALPES 51

ANNEX 5 KEY DATA ABOUT THE TOURISM AND CULTURE SECTORS 52

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 6

List of abbreviations

CDDRA Contrat de deacuteveloppement durable Rhocircne-Alpes

CPER Le contrat de projets Etat - Reacutegion

CRE Comiteacute de suivi drsquoeacutevaluation

CRSN Cadre de Reacutefeacuterence Strateacutegique National (National Strategic Reference

Framework)

DIRECCTE Direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la

consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi

DOMO Document de mise en œuvre

DPT (Direction des Politiques Territoriales)

DRAC Direction reacutegionale des Affaires culturelles

EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

ESF European Social Fund

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies

INSEE Institute national de statistiques et des eacutetudes eacuteconomiques (National

Statistical bureau)

OP Operational Programme

PRESAGE

POMA

POMAC

Programme Reacutegional et Europeacuteen de Suivi dAnalyse de Gestion et

dEvaluation

Programme Operationnel Pluriregional Massif des Alpes

Programme Operationnel laquo Massif Central raquo

SGAR Secreacutetariat Geacuteneacuteral pour les Affaires Reacutegionales

SRDE Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement Economique

SRDTLRA Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement du Tourism et des Loisirs Rhocircne-

Alpes (regional strategy for tourism and recreation development)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 7

Forward

The European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG

REGIO) is undertaking an ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes financed

by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

during the period 2007-2013 in regions covered by the Convergence Regional

Competitiveness amp Employment and European Territorial Cooperation objectives in 28

member states

Within this framework the Consortium IRS-CSIL-CISET-BOP has been selected to

undertake the ex post evaluation on lsquoCulture and Tourismrsquo (Work Package 9) An

important element within the exercise is a series of case-study analyses of NUTS2

regions covering interventions co-financed by ERDF during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case-studies are designed to obtain a better understanding of the ERDF

contribution to the overall objectives of CP in the culture and tourism sectors and to

set out what has been implemented on the ground with a particular focus on the

interface between the wider context of the intervention and the rationale and design of

intervention strategies In doing so the relative effectiveness of the adopted

strategies will be revealed The case-studies are designed to identify and assess the

effectiveness of the different types of ERDF strategies implemented in the culture and

tourism sectors

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF approaches to culture

and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region (FR) during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case study analysis draws upon desk and field based research The desk analysis

is based on relevant statistical data and researches describing the general socio-

economic contexts of the Rhocircne-Alpes region and the specific circumstances of the

tourism and culture sector Information was collected from various sources including

Eurostat the French National Statistical Office (Insee) and Rhocircne-Alpesrsquos regional

observatory on tourism Besides this the desk analysis included a careful review of

the relevant ERDF programming documents regional and national policy and strategy

documents for the two target sectors and the findings of a mid-term evaluation

Interviews were also conducted in a field visit to complement and validate the

information gathered through the desk analysis Interviewees were identified in

collaboration with the Managing Authority (MA) to include different types of

stakeholders (eg technical services responsible for implementing specific measures

regional authorities in charge of promoting the development of the tourism and culture

sectors beneficiaries and independent experts) The detailed list of interviewees in

presented in Annex 1

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 9

Executive summary

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF (European Regional

Development Fund) approaches to culture and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region

(FR) during the 2007-13 programming period Drawing upon a combination of

documentary and data analysis and field-work this report looks at the overall

strategic coherence and relevance of measures supporting the tourism and culture

sectors in the region It assesses the effectiveness of the co-financed interventions

with respect to the expected targets and explores the potential of wider regional

development outcomes that are brought about from support to the two sectors

Situated in south-eastern France Rhocircne-Alpes is the biggest French region and one of

the biggest regions in Europe The region is characterized by a large variety of natural

and socio-economic landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas

industrial hubs rural agricultural and mountainous areas Its economy is one of the

most dynamic of France and is comparable to those of Catalonia (ES) and Piedmont

(IT) regions The economic structure is highly diversified and is marked by a strong

albeit declining industrial tradition Territorial unbalances are a relevant issue

especially in relation to the juxtaposition between metropolitan and declining industrial

or rural areas

Following Eurostat data in 2013 the tourist sector employed 34 of the regional

labour force but the relevance of the tourist sector is unevenly distributed throughout

the region For three departments (Haut-Savoie Savoie and Ardegraveche) tourism is a

relevant source of income whereas other departments are less dependent on tourism

The tourist offer is highly diversified although the theme of sport and nature (both for

winter and summer outdoor activities) prevails Seasonality is a local rather than a

regional issue as at the regional level the tourist flows are distributed throughout the

entire calendar year The region flagship tourist attractions are the skiable resorts of

the Alpine region and the white water sport area in Ardegraveche that is where most

foreign tourists head to Local tourism in rural areas is gradually developing and most

target local demand from tourists demanding for alternative tourist experiences (eg

slow tourism) In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes

The elaboration of the ERDF strategy for culture and tourism was mostly guided by

two regional tourist strategies and development plans (ie Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL and the Plan Rhocircne) It followed

two different objectives i) diversify the economy of areas with an underdeveloped

tourism potential and ii) promoting culture and tourism along the Rhocircne river for the

purpose of building a regional identity based upon the riverrsquos cultural and historical

heritage These objectives were implemented through three separate measures i)

develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development (196 Meuro ERDF support) ii) promoting the cultural heritage and identity

of the Rhocircne river (4Meuro ERDF support) and iii) ensure the development of quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks (35 Meuro ERDF support) The two sectors

also received support from other measures of the OP although these were not

specifically targeted to culture and tourism

Justification for the public intervention was strong and mostly based on missing or

incomplete markets The OP targeted under-developed or emerging tourist areas that

were not able to attract sufficient private investments Public intervention in the field

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 3: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy

2016 EN

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-

2013 focusing on the

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and

the Cohesion Fund (CF)

Work Package 9 Culture and Tourism

Case Study Rhocircne-Alpes (France)

Contract 2014CE16BAT034

LEGAL NOTICE

This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (httpwwweuropaeu)

Luxembourg Publications Office of the European Union 2016

ISBN 978-92-79-58799-3 doi 102776457602

copy European Union 2016

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged

Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers

to your questions about the European Union

Freephone number ()

00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11

() The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 5

Table of Contents

FORWARD 7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9

1 THE REGIONAL CONTEXT 13

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region 13

12 The socio-economic context 14

13 Tourism and culture sectors 15

2 THE REGIONAL ERDF 2007-2013 STRATEGY IN THE CULTURE AND TOURISM SECTORS 19

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy 19

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture sectors 22

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy 23

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy 25

25 The implementation process 30

3 EFFECTIVENESS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE STRATEGY

OUTPUTS AND RESULTS 33

31 Outputs achieved 33

32 Results achieved 38

4 CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNT 41

REFERENCES 45

ANNEX 1 LIST OF PEOPLE TO INTERVIEW DURING THE WEEK 25-30 MAY 47

ANNEX 2 DATA ON THE REGIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT 48

ANNEX 3 CULTURAL AND NATURAL ASSETS OF THE RHOcircNE-ALPES

REGION 49

ANNEX 4 SITE OF CULTURAL INTEREST IN RHOcircNE-ALPES 51

ANNEX 5 KEY DATA ABOUT THE TOURISM AND CULTURE SECTORS 52

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 6

List of abbreviations

CDDRA Contrat de deacuteveloppement durable Rhocircne-Alpes

CPER Le contrat de projets Etat - Reacutegion

CRE Comiteacute de suivi drsquoeacutevaluation

CRSN Cadre de Reacutefeacuterence Strateacutegique National (National Strategic Reference

Framework)

DIRECCTE Direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la

consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi

DOMO Document de mise en œuvre

DPT (Direction des Politiques Territoriales)

DRAC Direction reacutegionale des Affaires culturelles

EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

ESF European Social Fund

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies

INSEE Institute national de statistiques et des eacutetudes eacuteconomiques (National

Statistical bureau)

OP Operational Programme

PRESAGE

POMA

POMAC

Programme Reacutegional et Europeacuteen de Suivi dAnalyse de Gestion et

dEvaluation

Programme Operationnel Pluriregional Massif des Alpes

Programme Operationnel laquo Massif Central raquo

SGAR Secreacutetariat Geacuteneacuteral pour les Affaires Reacutegionales

SRDE Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement Economique

SRDTLRA Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement du Tourism et des Loisirs Rhocircne-

Alpes (regional strategy for tourism and recreation development)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 7

Forward

The European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG

REGIO) is undertaking an ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes financed

by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

during the period 2007-2013 in regions covered by the Convergence Regional

Competitiveness amp Employment and European Territorial Cooperation objectives in 28

member states

Within this framework the Consortium IRS-CSIL-CISET-BOP has been selected to

undertake the ex post evaluation on lsquoCulture and Tourismrsquo (Work Package 9) An

important element within the exercise is a series of case-study analyses of NUTS2

regions covering interventions co-financed by ERDF during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case-studies are designed to obtain a better understanding of the ERDF

contribution to the overall objectives of CP in the culture and tourism sectors and to

set out what has been implemented on the ground with a particular focus on the

interface between the wider context of the intervention and the rationale and design of

intervention strategies In doing so the relative effectiveness of the adopted

strategies will be revealed The case-studies are designed to identify and assess the

effectiveness of the different types of ERDF strategies implemented in the culture and

tourism sectors

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF approaches to culture

and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region (FR) during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case study analysis draws upon desk and field based research The desk analysis

is based on relevant statistical data and researches describing the general socio-

economic contexts of the Rhocircne-Alpes region and the specific circumstances of the

tourism and culture sector Information was collected from various sources including

Eurostat the French National Statistical Office (Insee) and Rhocircne-Alpesrsquos regional

observatory on tourism Besides this the desk analysis included a careful review of

the relevant ERDF programming documents regional and national policy and strategy

documents for the two target sectors and the findings of a mid-term evaluation

Interviews were also conducted in a field visit to complement and validate the

information gathered through the desk analysis Interviewees were identified in

collaboration with the Managing Authority (MA) to include different types of

stakeholders (eg technical services responsible for implementing specific measures

regional authorities in charge of promoting the development of the tourism and culture

sectors beneficiaries and independent experts) The detailed list of interviewees in

presented in Annex 1

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 9

Executive summary

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF (European Regional

Development Fund) approaches to culture and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region

(FR) during the 2007-13 programming period Drawing upon a combination of

documentary and data analysis and field-work this report looks at the overall

strategic coherence and relevance of measures supporting the tourism and culture

sectors in the region It assesses the effectiveness of the co-financed interventions

with respect to the expected targets and explores the potential of wider regional

development outcomes that are brought about from support to the two sectors

Situated in south-eastern France Rhocircne-Alpes is the biggest French region and one of

the biggest regions in Europe The region is characterized by a large variety of natural

and socio-economic landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas

industrial hubs rural agricultural and mountainous areas Its economy is one of the

most dynamic of France and is comparable to those of Catalonia (ES) and Piedmont

(IT) regions The economic structure is highly diversified and is marked by a strong

albeit declining industrial tradition Territorial unbalances are a relevant issue

especially in relation to the juxtaposition between metropolitan and declining industrial

or rural areas

Following Eurostat data in 2013 the tourist sector employed 34 of the regional

labour force but the relevance of the tourist sector is unevenly distributed throughout

the region For three departments (Haut-Savoie Savoie and Ardegraveche) tourism is a

relevant source of income whereas other departments are less dependent on tourism

The tourist offer is highly diversified although the theme of sport and nature (both for

winter and summer outdoor activities) prevails Seasonality is a local rather than a

regional issue as at the regional level the tourist flows are distributed throughout the

entire calendar year The region flagship tourist attractions are the skiable resorts of

the Alpine region and the white water sport area in Ardegraveche that is where most

foreign tourists head to Local tourism in rural areas is gradually developing and most

target local demand from tourists demanding for alternative tourist experiences (eg

slow tourism) In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes

The elaboration of the ERDF strategy for culture and tourism was mostly guided by

two regional tourist strategies and development plans (ie Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL and the Plan Rhocircne) It followed

two different objectives i) diversify the economy of areas with an underdeveloped

tourism potential and ii) promoting culture and tourism along the Rhocircne river for the

purpose of building a regional identity based upon the riverrsquos cultural and historical

heritage These objectives were implemented through three separate measures i)

develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development (196 Meuro ERDF support) ii) promoting the cultural heritage and identity

of the Rhocircne river (4Meuro ERDF support) and iii) ensure the development of quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks (35 Meuro ERDF support) The two sectors

also received support from other measures of the OP although these were not

specifically targeted to culture and tourism

Justification for the public intervention was strong and mostly based on missing or

incomplete markets The OP targeted under-developed or emerging tourist areas that

were not able to attract sufficient private investments Public intervention in the field

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

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(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 4: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

LEGAL NOTICE

This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (httpwwweuropaeu)

Luxembourg Publications Office of the European Union 2016

ISBN 978-92-79-58799-3 doi 102776457602

copy European Union 2016

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged

Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers

to your questions about the European Union

Freephone number ()

00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11

() The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 5

Table of Contents

FORWARD 7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9

1 THE REGIONAL CONTEXT 13

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region 13

12 The socio-economic context 14

13 Tourism and culture sectors 15

2 THE REGIONAL ERDF 2007-2013 STRATEGY IN THE CULTURE AND TOURISM SECTORS 19

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy 19

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture sectors 22

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy 23

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy 25

25 The implementation process 30

3 EFFECTIVENESS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE STRATEGY

OUTPUTS AND RESULTS 33

31 Outputs achieved 33

32 Results achieved 38

4 CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNT 41

REFERENCES 45

ANNEX 1 LIST OF PEOPLE TO INTERVIEW DURING THE WEEK 25-30 MAY 47

ANNEX 2 DATA ON THE REGIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT 48

ANNEX 3 CULTURAL AND NATURAL ASSETS OF THE RHOcircNE-ALPES

REGION 49

ANNEX 4 SITE OF CULTURAL INTEREST IN RHOcircNE-ALPES 51

ANNEX 5 KEY DATA ABOUT THE TOURISM AND CULTURE SECTORS 52

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 6

List of abbreviations

CDDRA Contrat de deacuteveloppement durable Rhocircne-Alpes

CPER Le contrat de projets Etat - Reacutegion

CRE Comiteacute de suivi drsquoeacutevaluation

CRSN Cadre de Reacutefeacuterence Strateacutegique National (National Strategic Reference

Framework)

DIRECCTE Direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la

consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi

DOMO Document de mise en œuvre

DPT (Direction des Politiques Territoriales)

DRAC Direction reacutegionale des Affaires culturelles

EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

ESF European Social Fund

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies

INSEE Institute national de statistiques et des eacutetudes eacuteconomiques (National

Statistical bureau)

OP Operational Programme

PRESAGE

POMA

POMAC

Programme Reacutegional et Europeacuteen de Suivi dAnalyse de Gestion et

dEvaluation

Programme Operationnel Pluriregional Massif des Alpes

Programme Operationnel laquo Massif Central raquo

SGAR Secreacutetariat Geacuteneacuteral pour les Affaires Reacutegionales

SRDE Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement Economique

SRDTLRA Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement du Tourism et des Loisirs Rhocircne-

Alpes (regional strategy for tourism and recreation development)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 7

Forward

The European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG

REGIO) is undertaking an ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes financed

by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

during the period 2007-2013 in regions covered by the Convergence Regional

Competitiveness amp Employment and European Territorial Cooperation objectives in 28

member states

Within this framework the Consortium IRS-CSIL-CISET-BOP has been selected to

undertake the ex post evaluation on lsquoCulture and Tourismrsquo (Work Package 9) An

important element within the exercise is a series of case-study analyses of NUTS2

regions covering interventions co-financed by ERDF during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case-studies are designed to obtain a better understanding of the ERDF

contribution to the overall objectives of CP in the culture and tourism sectors and to

set out what has been implemented on the ground with a particular focus on the

interface between the wider context of the intervention and the rationale and design of

intervention strategies In doing so the relative effectiveness of the adopted

strategies will be revealed The case-studies are designed to identify and assess the

effectiveness of the different types of ERDF strategies implemented in the culture and

tourism sectors

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF approaches to culture

and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region (FR) during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case study analysis draws upon desk and field based research The desk analysis

is based on relevant statistical data and researches describing the general socio-

economic contexts of the Rhocircne-Alpes region and the specific circumstances of the

tourism and culture sector Information was collected from various sources including

Eurostat the French National Statistical Office (Insee) and Rhocircne-Alpesrsquos regional

observatory on tourism Besides this the desk analysis included a careful review of

the relevant ERDF programming documents regional and national policy and strategy

documents for the two target sectors and the findings of a mid-term evaluation

Interviews were also conducted in a field visit to complement and validate the

information gathered through the desk analysis Interviewees were identified in

collaboration with the Managing Authority (MA) to include different types of

stakeholders (eg technical services responsible for implementing specific measures

regional authorities in charge of promoting the development of the tourism and culture

sectors beneficiaries and independent experts) The detailed list of interviewees in

presented in Annex 1

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 9

Executive summary

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF (European Regional

Development Fund) approaches to culture and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region

(FR) during the 2007-13 programming period Drawing upon a combination of

documentary and data analysis and field-work this report looks at the overall

strategic coherence and relevance of measures supporting the tourism and culture

sectors in the region It assesses the effectiveness of the co-financed interventions

with respect to the expected targets and explores the potential of wider regional

development outcomes that are brought about from support to the two sectors

Situated in south-eastern France Rhocircne-Alpes is the biggest French region and one of

the biggest regions in Europe The region is characterized by a large variety of natural

and socio-economic landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas

industrial hubs rural agricultural and mountainous areas Its economy is one of the

most dynamic of France and is comparable to those of Catalonia (ES) and Piedmont

(IT) regions The economic structure is highly diversified and is marked by a strong

albeit declining industrial tradition Territorial unbalances are a relevant issue

especially in relation to the juxtaposition between metropolitan and declining industrial

or rural areas

Following Eurostat data in 2013 the tourist sector employed 34 of the regional

labour force but the relevance of the tourist sector is unevenly distributed throughout

the region For three departments (Haut-Savoie Savoie and Ardegraveche) tourism is a

relevant source of income whereas other departments are less dependent on tourism

The tourist offer is highly diversified although the theme of sport and nature (both for

winter and summer outdoor activities) prevails Seasonality is a local rather than a

regional issue as at the regional level the tourist flows are distributed throughout the

entire calendar year The region flagship tourist attractions are the skiable resorts of

the Alpine region and the white water sport area in Ardegraveche that is where most

foreign tourists head to Local tourism in rural areas is gradually developing and most

target local demand from tourists demanding for alternative tourist experiences (eg

slow tourism) In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes

The elaboration of the ERDF strategy for culture and tourism was mostly guided by

two regional tourist strategies and development plans (ie Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL and the Plan Rhocircne) It followed

two different objectives i) diversify the economy of areas with an underdeveloped

tourism potential and ii) promoting culture and tourism along the Rhocircne river for the

purpose of building a regional identity based upon the riverrsquos cultural and historical

heritage These objectives were implemented through three separate measures i)

develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development (196 Meuro ERDF support) ii) promoting the cultural heritage and identity

of the Rhocircne river (4Meuro ERDF support) and iii) ensure the development of quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks (35 Meuro ERDF support) The two sectors

also received support from other measures of the OP although these were not

specifically targeted to culture and tourism

Justification for the public intervention was strong and mostly based on missing or

incomplete markets The OP targeted under-developed or emerging tourist areas that

were not able to attract sufficient private investments Public intervention in the field

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 5: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 5

Table of Contents

FORWARD 7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9

1 THE REGIONAL CONTEXT 13

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region 13

12 The socio-economic context 14

13 Tourism and culture sectors 15

2 THE REGIONAL ERDF 2007-2013 STRATEGY IN THE CULTURE AND TOURISM SECTORS 19

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy 19

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture sectors 22

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy 23

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy 25

25 The implementation process 30

3 EFFECTIVENESS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE STRATEGY

OUTPUTS AND RESULTS 33

31 Outputs achieved 33

32 Results achieved 38

4 CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNT 41

REFERENCES 45

ANNEX 1 LIST OF PEOPLE TO INTERVIEW DURING THE WEEK 25-30 MAY 47

ANNEX 2 DATA ON THE REGIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT 48

ANNEX 3 CULTURAL AND NATURAL ASSETS OF THE RHOcircNE-ALPES

REGION 49

ANNEX 4 SITE OF CULTURAL INTEREST IN RHOcircNE-ALPES 51

ANNEX 5 KEY DATA ABOUT THE TOURISM AND CULTURE SECTORS 52

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 6

List of abbreviations

CDDRA Contrat de deacuteveloppement durable Rhocircne-Alpes

CPER Le contrat de projets Etat - Reacutegion

CRE Comiteacute de suivi drsquoeacutevaluation

CRSN Cadre de Reacutefeacuterence Strateacutegique National (National Strategic Reference

Framework)

DIRECCTE Direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la

consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi

DOMO Document de mise en œuvre

DPT (Direction des Politiques Territoriales)

DRAC Direction reacutegionale des Affaires culturelles

EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

ESF European Social Fund

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies

INSEE Institute national de statistiques et des eacutetudes eacuteconomiques (National

Statistical bureau)

OP Operational Programme

PRESAGE

POMA

POMAC

Programme Reacutegional et Europeacuteen de Suivi dAnalyse de Gestion et

dEvaluation

Programme Operationnel Pluriregional Massif des Alpes

Programme Operationnel laquo Massif Central raquo

SGAR Secreacutetariat Geacuteneacuteral pour les Affaires Reacutegionales

SRDE Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement Economique

SRDTLRA Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement du Tourism et des Loisirs Rhocircne-

Alpes (regional strategy for tourism and recreation development)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 7

Forward

The European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG

REGIO) is undertaking an ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes financed

by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

during the period 2007-2013 in regions covered by the Convergence Regional

Competitiveness amp Employment and European Territorial Cooperation objectives in 28

member states

Within this framework the Consortium IRS-CSIL-CISET-BOP has been selected to

undertake the ex post evaluation on lsquoCulture and Tourismrsquo (Work Package 9) An

important element within the exercise is a series of case-study analyses of NUTS2

regions covering interventions co-financed by ERDF during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case-studies are designed to obtain a better understanding of the ERDF

contribution to the overall objectives of CP in the culture and tourism sectors and to

set out what has been implemented on the ground with a particular focus on the

interface between the wider context of the intervention and the rationale and design of

intervention strategies In doing so the relative effectiveness of the adopted

strategies will be revealed The case-studies are designed to identify and assess the

effectiveness of the different types of ERDF strategies implemented in the culture and

tourism sectors

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF approaches to culture

and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region (FR) during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case study analysis draws upon desk and field based research The desk analysis

is based on relevant statistical data and researches describing the general socio-

economic contexts of the Rhocircne-Alpes region and the specific circumstances of the

tourism and culture sector Information was collected from various sources including

Eurostat the French National Statistical Office (Insee) and Rhocircne-Alpesrsquos regional

observatory on tourism Besides this the desk analysis included a careful review of

the relevant ERDF programming documents regional and national policy and strategy

documents for the two target sectors and the findings of a mid-term evaluation

Interviews were also conducted in a field visit to complement and validate the

information gathered through the desk analysis Interviewees were identified in

collaboration with the Managing Authority (MA) to include different types of

stakeholders (eg technical services responsible for implementing specific measures

regional authorities in charge of promoting the development of the tourism and culture

sectors beneficiaries and independent experts) The detailed list of interviewees in

presented in Annex 1

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 9

Executive summary

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF (European Regional

Development Fund) approaches to culture and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region

(FR) during the 2007-13 programming period Drawing upon a combination of

documentary and data analysis and field-work this report looks at the overall

strategic coherence and relevance of measures supporting the tourism and culture

sectors in the region It assesses the effectiveness of the co-financed interventions

with respect to the expected targets and explores the potential of wider regional

development outcomes that are brought about from support to the two sectors

Situated in south-eastern France Rhocircne-Alpes is the biggest French region and one of

the biggest regions in Europe The region is characterized by a large variety of natural

and socio-economic landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas

industrial hubs rural agricultural and mountainous areas Its economy is one of the

most dynamic of France and is comparable to those of Catalonia (ES) and Piedmont

(IT) regions The economic structure is highly diversified and is marked by a strong

albeit declining industrial tradition Territorial unbalances are a relevant issue

especially in relation to the juxtaposition between metropolitan and declining industrial

or rural areas

Following Eurostat data in 2013 the tourist sector employed 34 of the regional

labour force but the relevance of the tourist sector is unevenly distributed throughout

the region For three departments (Haut-Savoie Savoie and Ardegraveche) tourism is a

relevant source of income whereas other departments are less dependent on tourism

The tourist offer is highly diversified although the theme of sport and nature (both for

winter and summer outdoor activities) prevails Seasonality is a local rather than a

regional issue as at the regional level the tourist flows are distributed throughout the

entire calendar year The region flagship tourist attractions are the skiable resorts of

the Alpine region and the white water sport area in Ardegraveche that is where most

foreign tourists head to Local tourism in rural areas is gradually developing and most

target local demand from tourists demanding for alternative tourist experiences (eg

slow tourism) In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes

The elaboration of the ERDF strategy for culture and tourism was mostly guided by

two regional tourist strategies and development plans (ie Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL and the Plan Rhocircne) It followed

two different objectives i) diversify the economy of areas with an underdeveloped

tourism potential and ii) promoting culture and tourism along the Rhocircne river for the

purpose of building a regional identity based upon the riverrsquos cultural and historical

heritage These objectives were implemented through three separate measures i)

develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development (196 Meuro ERDF support) ii) promoting the cultural heritage and identity

of the Rhocircne river (4Meuro ERDF support) and iii) ensure the development of quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks (35 Meuro ERDF support) The two sectors

also received support from other measures of the OP although these were not

specifically targeted to culture and tourism

Justification for the public intervention was strong and mostly based on missing or

incomplete markets The OP targeted under-developed or emerging tourist areas that

were not able to attract sufficient private investments Public intervention in the field

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

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6-5

14-E

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 6: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 6

List of abbreviations

CDDRA Contrat de deacuteveloppement durable Rhocircne-Alpes

CPER Le contrat de projets Etat - Reacutegion

CRE Comiteacute de suivi drsquoeacutevaluation

CRSN Cadre de Reacutefeacuterence Strateacutegique National (National Strategic Reference

Framework)

DIRECCTE Direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la

consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi

DOMO Document de mise en œuvre

DPT (Direction des Politiques Territoriales)

DRAC Direction reacutegionale des Affaires culturelles

EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

ERDF European Regional Development Fund

ESF European Social Fund

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies

INSEE Institute national de statistiques et des eacutetudes eacuteconomiques (National

Statistical bureau)

OP Operational Programme

PRESAGE

POMA

POMAC

Programme Reacutegional et Europeacuteen de Suivi dAnalyse de Gestion et

dEvaluation

Programme Operationnel Pluriregional Massif des Alpes

Programme Operationnel laquo Massif Central raquo

SGAR Secreacutetariat Geacuteneacuteral pour les Affaires Reacutegionales

SRDE Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement Economique

SRDTLRA Scheacutema Reacutegional de Deacuteveloppement du Tourism et des Loisirs Rhocircne-

Alpes (regional strategy for tourism and recreation development)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 7

Forward

The European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG

REGIO) is undertaking an ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes financed

by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

during the period 2007-2013 in regions covered by the Convergence Regional

Competitiveness amp Employment and European Territorial Cooperation objectives in 28

member states

Within this framework the Consortium IRS-CSIL-CISET-BOP has been selected to

undertake the ex post evaluation on lsquoCulture and Tourismrsquo (Work Package 9) An

important element within the exercise is a series of case-study analyses of NUTS2

regions covering interventions co-financed by ERDF during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case-studies are designed to obtain a better understanding of the ERDF

contribution to the overall objectives of CP in the culture and tourism sectors and to

set out what has been implemented on the ground with a particular focus on the

interface between the wider context of the intervention and the rationale and design of

intervention strategies In doing so the relative effectiveness of the adopted

strategies will be revealed The case-studies are designed to identify and assess the

effectiveness of the different types of ERDF strategies implemented in the culture and

tourism sectors

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF approaches to culture

and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region (FR) during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case study analysis draws upon desk and field based research The desk analysis

is based on relevant statistical data and researches describing the general socio-

economic contexts of the Rhocircne-Alpes region and the specific circumstances of the

tourism and culture sector Information was collected from various sources including

Eurostat the French National Statistical Office (Insee) and Rhocircne-Alpesrsquos regional

observatory on tourism Besides this the desk analysis included a careful review of

the relevant ERDF programming documents regional and national policy and strategy

documents for the two target sectors and the findings of a mid-term evaluation

Interviews were also conducted in a field visit to complement and validate the

information gathered through the desk analysis Interviewees were identified in

collaboration with the Managing Authority (MA) to include different types of

stakeholders (eg technical services responsible for implementing specific measures

regional authorities in charge of promoting the development of the tourism and culture

sectors beneficiaries and independent experts) The detailed list of interviewees in

presented in Annex 1

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 9

Executive summary

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF (European Regional

Development Fund) approaches to culture and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region

(FR) during the 2007-13 programming period Drawing upon a combination of

documentary and data analysis and field-work this report looks at the overall

strategic coherence and relevance of measures supporting the tourism and culture

sectors in the region It assesses the effectiveness of the co-financed interventions

with respect to the expected targets and explores the potential of wider regional

development outcomes that are brought about from support to the two sectors

Situated in south-eastern France Rhocircne-Alpes is the biggest French region and one of

the biggest regions in Europe The region is characterized by a large variety of natural

and socio-economic landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas

industrial hubs rural agricultural and mountainous areas Its economy is one of the

most dynamic of France and is comparable to those of Catalonia (ES) and Piedmont

(IT) regions The economic structure is highly diversified and is marked by a strong

albeit declining industrial tradition Territorial unbalances are a relevant issue

especially in relation to the juxtaposition between metropolitan and declining industrial

or rural areas

Following Eurostat data in 2013 the tourist sector employed 34 of the regional

labour force but the relevance of the tourist sector is unevenly distributed throughout

the region For three departments (Haut-Savoie Savoie and Ardegraveche) tourism is a

relevant source of income whereas other departments are less dependent on tourism

The tourist offer is highly diversified although the theme of sport and nature (both for

winter and summer outdoor activities) prevails Seasonality is a local rather than a

regional issue as at the regional level the tourist flows are distributed throughout the

entire calendar year The region flagship tourist attractions are the skiable resorts of

the Alpine region and the white water sport area in Ardegraveche that is where most

foreign tourists head to Local tourism in rural areas is gradually developing and most

target local demand from tourists demanding for alternative tourist experiences (eg

slow tourism) In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes

The elaboration of the ERDF strategy for culture and tourism was mostly guided by

two regional tourist strategies and development plans (ie Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL and the Plan Rhocircne) It followed

two different objectives i) diversify the economy of areas with an underdeveloped

tourism potential and ii) promoting culture and tourism along the Rhocircne river for the

purpose of building a regional identity based upon the riverrsquos cultural and historical

heritage These objectives were implemented through three separate measures i)

develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development (196 Meuro ERDF support) ii) promoting the cultural heritage and identity

of the Rhocircne river (4Meuro ERDF support) and iii) ensure the development of quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks (35 Meuro ERDF support) The two sectors

also received support from other measures of the OP although these were not

specifically targeted to culture and tourism

Justification for the public intervention was strong and mostly based on missing or

incomplete markets The OP targeted under-developed or emerging tourist areas that

were not able to attract sufficient private investments Public intervention in the field

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

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um

be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 7: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 7

Forward

The European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG

REGIO) is undertaking an ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes financed

by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF)

during the period 2007-2013 in regions covered by the Convergence Regional

Competitiveness amp Employment and European Territorial Cooperation objectives in 28

member states

Within this framework the Consortium IRS-CSIL-CISET-BOP has been selected to

undertake the ex post evaluation on lsquoCulture and Tourismrsquo (Work Package 9) An

important element within the exercise is a series of case-study analyses of NUTS2

regions covering interventions co-financed by ERDF during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case-studies are designed to obtain a better understanding of the ERDF

contribution to the overall objectives of CP in the culture and tourism sectors and to

set out what has been implemented on the ground with a particular focus on the

interface between the wider context of the intervention and the rationale and design of

intervention strategies In doing so the relative effectiveness of the adopted

strategies will be revealed The case-studies are designed to identify and assess the

effectiveness of the different types of ERDF strategies implemented in the culture and

tourism sectors

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF approaches to culture

and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region (FR) during the 2007-13 programming

period

The case study analysis draws upon desk and field based research The desk analysis

is based on relevant statistical data and researches describing the general socio-

economic contexts of the Rhocircne-Alpes region and the specific circumstances of the

tourism and culture sector Information was collected from various sources including

Eurostat the French National Statistical Office (Insee) and Rhocircne-Alpesrsquos regional

observatory on tourism Besides this the desk analysis included a careful review of

the relevant ERDF programming documents regional and national policy and strategy

documents for the two target sectors and the findings of a mid-term evaluation

Interviews were also conducted in a field visit to complement and validate the

information gathered through the desk analysis Interviewees were identified in

collaboration with the Managing Authority (MA) to include different types of

stakeholders (eg technical services responsible for implementing specific measures

regional authorities in charge of promoting the development of the tourism and culture

sectors beneficiaries and independent experts) The detailed list of interviewees in

presented in Annex 1

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 9

Executive summary

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF (European Regional

Development Fund) approaches to culture and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region

(FR) during the 2007-13 programming period Drawing upon a combination of

documentary and data analysis and field-work this report looks at the overall

strategic coherence and relevance of measures supporting the tourism and culture

sectors in the region It assesses the effectiveness of the co-financed interventions

with respect to the expected targets and explores the potential of wider regional

development outcomes that are brought about from support to the two sectors

Situated in south-eastern France Rhocircne-Alpes is the biggest French region and one of

the biggest regions in Europe The region is characterized by a large variety of natural

and socio-economic landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas

industrial hubs rural agricultural and mountainous areas Its economy is one of the

most dynamic of France and is comparable to those of Catalonia (ES) and Piedmont

(IT) regions The economic structure is highly diversified and is marked by a strong

albeit declining industrial tradition Territorial unbalances are a relevant issue

especially in relation to the juxtaposition between metropolitan and declining industrial

or rural areas

Following Eurostat data in 2013 the tourist sector employed 34 of the regional

labour force but the relevance of the tourist sector is unevenly distributed throughout

the region For three departments (Haut-Savoie Savoie and Ardegraveche) tourism is a

relevant source of income whereas other departments are less dependent on tourism

The tourist offer is highly diversified although the theme of sport and nature (both for

winter and summer outdoor activities) prevails Seasonality is a local rather than a

regional issue as at the regional level the tourist flows are distributed throughout the

entire calendar year The region flagship tourist attractions are the skiable resorts of

the Alpine region and the white water sport area in Ardegraveche that is where most

foreign tourists head to Local tourism in rural areas is gradually developing and most

target local demand from tourists demanding for alternative tourist experiences (eg

slow tourism) In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes

The elaboration of the ERDF strategy for culture and tourism was mostly guided by

two regional tourist strategies and development plans (ie Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL and the Plan Rhocircne) It followed

two different objectives i) diversify the economy of areas with an underdeveloped

tourism potential and ii) promoting culture and tourism along the Rhocircne river for the

purpose of building a regional identity based upon the riverrsquos cultural and historical

heritage These objectives were implemented through three separate measures i)

develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development (196 Meuro ERDF support) ii) promoting the cultural heritage and identity

of the Rhocircne river (4Meuro ERDF support) and iii) ensure the development of quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks (35 Meuro ERDF support) The two sectors

also received support from other measures of the OP although these were not

specifically targeted to culture and tourism

Justification for the public intervention was strong and mostly based on missing or

incomplete markets The OP targeted under-developed or emerging tourist areas that

were not able to attract sufficient private investments Public intervention in the field

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

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[Ca

talo

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be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 8: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 9

Executive summary

This report provides the results of a detailed case study of ERDF (European Regional

Development Fund) approaches to culture and tourism pursued in Rhocircne-Alpes region

(FR) during the 2007-13 programming period Drawing upon a combination of

documentary and data analysis and field-work this report looks at the overall

strategic coherence and relevance of measures supporting the tourism and culture

sectors in the region It assesses the effectiveness of the co-financed interventions

with respect to the expected targets and explores the potential of wider regional

development outcomes that are brought about from support to the two sectors

Situated in south-eastern France Rhocircne-Alpes is the biggest French region and one of

the biggest regions in Europe The region is characterized by a large variety of natural

and socio-economic landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas

industrial hubs rural agricultural and mountainous areas Its economy is one of the

most dynamic of France and is comparable to those of Catalonia (ES) and Piedmont

(IT) regions The economic structure is highly diversified and is marked by a strong

albeit declining industrial tradition Territorial unbalances are a relevant issue

especially in relation to the juxtaposition between metropolitan and declining industrial

or rural areas

Following Eurostat data in 2013 the tourist sector employed 34 of the regional

labour force but the relevance of the tourist sector is unevenly distributed throughout

the region For three departments (Haut-Savoie Savoie and Ardegraveche) tourism is a

relevant source of income whereas other departments are less dependent on tourism

The tourist offer is highly diversified although the theme of sport and nature (both for

winter and summer outdoor activities) prevails Seasonality is a local rather than a

regional issue as at the regional level the tourist flows are distributed throughout the

entire calendar year The region flagship tourist attractions are the skiable resorts of

the Alpine region and the white water sport area in Ardegraveche that is where most

foreign tourists head to Local tourism in rural areas is gradually developing and most

target local demand from tourists demanding for alternative tourist experiences (eg

slow tourism) In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes

The elaboration of the ERDF strategy for culture and tourism was mostly guided by

two regional tourist strategies and development plans (ie Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL and the Plan Rhocircne) It followed

two different objectives i) diversify the economy of areas with an underdeveloped

tourism potential and ii) promoting culture and tourism along the Rhocircne river for the

purpose of building a regional identity based upon the riverrsquos cultural and historical

heritage These objectives were implemented through three separate measures i)

develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development (196 Meuro ERDF support) ii) promoting the cultural heritage and identity

of the Rhocircne river (4Meuro ERDF support) and iii) ensure the development of quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks (35 Meuro ERDF support) The two sectors

also received support from other measures of the OP although these were not

specifically targeted to culture and tourism

Justification for the public intervention was strong and mostly based on missing or

incomplete markets The OP targeted under-developed or emerging tourist areas that

were not able to attract sufficient private investments Public intervention in the field

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 9: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 10

of culture has a long tradition in France that limited the use of private sponsorship

Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism both for low-income

groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale for public

intervention Projects were selected according to a defined number of criteria and

priority was given to projects that aligned with existing national or regional strategies

Overall the implementation of the measures concerning the two sectors was

satisfactory Driven by a strong local demand for public interventions and an already

established project pipelines within the existing regional or local development plans

funds were fully allocated and payment rates were also well advanced at the end of

2014 Projects selection was based on different instruments including call for

proposals demand for grants from potential beneficiaries and nationalregional

priorities identified by the managing authority (MA) Call for projects were reported to

be particularly effective in promoting stronger participation from local stakeholders

and increase the quality of the proposals submitted

In the tourist sector the geographical distribution of funding strongly benefited the

Ardeche department This is due to the major project of the Chauvet cave at Pont

drsquoArc but is also justified by the objective of the strategy (ie support economic

diversification in areas with an underexploited tourist potential) Departments with a

more diversified and solid economic structure as well as areas with a well-structured

tourist offer and infrastructure benefited far less of these measures In the culture

sector interventions were strongly concentrated in the Rhocircne department where most

potential beneficiaries were located This was partly in contradiction with the concept

of using the river as a regional cultural asset

The OP supported a large variety of interventions including both hard (eg small and

large scale investments) and soft (diagnostic studies counselling activities) measures

Whereas credit absorption was mostly driven by infrastructure investment either

green field investments or rehabilitation of existing infrastructure a large variety of

soft measures was supported For the tourist sector these were mostly geared

towards promoting tourism through territorial marketing activities or the development

of ICT-based tourist products For the culture sector the second largest category of

interventions was set to deliver cultural products based upon the historical and cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river These included support to performing arts associations

and support to exhibitions and preparation of documentary material

All completed projects were reported to have delivered the expected outputs and no

specific implementation problems were reported By December 2014 90 of cultural

projects were completed whereas the same figure was at 87 and 66 for the

measures targeting the tourism sector However it is relevant to notice that

continuous follow up activities were necessary to ensure a successful projectsrsquo

completion for cultural projects This was due to the low administrative capacity of the

beneficiary organization

Sustainability of interventions without further support from public finances is poor

This is relevant for both sectors but there were important differences While

interventions in the tourist sector where designed to be implemented by public

authorities and were generally framed within other regionallocalnational programmes

that could ensure continuous support most cultural associations have a fragile

financial equilibrium that makes sustainability uncertain In this respect two extreme

cases can be reported i) the Woostower association that managed to secure a private

sponsorship and ii) the cultural institution Maison du Rhocircne that was liquidated in

2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

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6-5

14-E

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talo

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 10: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 11

Overall assessment of results proved to be difficult because of the weaknesses of the

monitoring system that failed to set appropriate outcome indicators in the

programming phase The indicator concerning the number of direct job created by the

intervention delivered biased results Onone hand it overestimates the number of job

created by including temporary jobs that were used to deliver the projectsrsquo outputs

and on the other hand it fails to consider employment outcomes within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg tourist facilities in the target area)

A qualitative analysis of the measuresrsquo outcomes was performed by integrating the

views of beneficiaries and stakeholders Interviews highlighted that cohesion

outcomes in terms of improved territorial and social cohesion were predominant as

compared to economic competitiveness outcomes Interventions helped local

communities with weak understanding of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism as an instrument for local development However it

was also reported that results could have been improved by integrating more market-

driven elements within the supported promotional activities

Strategic coherence and relevance of the intervention was deemed satisfactory for the

interventions addressing the tourism sector Differently the interventions supporting

the culture sector were too constrained by the choice of the Rhocircne river theme that

also reduced possibility to better integrate culture and tourism In both sectors

interventions were generally effective with respect to the expected targets although

integration of the ICT theme was lower than expected besides the concerned sub-

measure

ERDF support proved to be a vital source of financing for many interventions

supported It also provided the beneficiary organizations with an opportunity for

improving their project design and project management capacity However the use of

the ERDF fund to support small cultural associations remained contested

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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bull more than one copy or postersmaps

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(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 11: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 13

1 The regional context

11 The geo-institutional context in the analysed region

Situated in south-eastern France (Figure 11) Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the 26 French

regions1 It lies at a natural crossroads of major national and European axes of

communication For its geographical size and population it is the biggest French region

and one of the biggest in Europe In 2013 the region had about 63 million

inhabitants which corresponded to 98 of the French population and is almost

equivalent to the population of Denmark Rhocircne-Alpes has had a good demographic

progression (+54 from 2007 to 2013) that makes it one of the most dynamic

French regions (Insee 2014)

The region is characterized by a large variety of natural and socio-economic

landscapes that are based on a combination of large urban areas industrial hubs

rural agricultural and mountainous areas At the administrative level Rhocircne-Alpes is

made up of eight departments2 The region has three of Francersquos largest cities These

are Lyon Grenoble and Saint-Eacutetienne which form a triangle that is the economic core

of the region The urban conglomeration of Geneva and Annemasse next to the Swiss

border completes the urban structure of the region that is the largest of France The

mountain area takes two third of the regionrsquos size along the Italian and Swiss border

whereas major national routes pass through the Rhocircne and Saocircne river valleys where

most economic activities cluster together

Figure 11 Map of Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Wikipedia

1 France is divided into 26 regions that are governed by Regional Councils (Conseil Reacutegional) Regions are further divided into 100 departments administered by Conseil Geacuteneacuteral At the regional and departmental level the French state is represented by the prefect (preacutefet) Regions are undergoing major restructuring including a reduction of the existing number of regions from 26 to 13 2 These are Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse) Ardegraveche (Privas) Drocircme (Valence) Isegravere (Grenoble) Loire (Saint-Eacutetienne) Rhocircne (Lyon) Savoie (Chambeacutery) Haute-Savoie (Annecy)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

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be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 12: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 14

The regionrsquos economy is one of the most diversified in France It has seven types of

employment areas including expanding metropolitan and semi-urban areas rural and

industrial declining districts and tourist areas that are subject to differentiated trend

This diversified structure is an asset for the region as it allows tapping into

complementarities between different sectors but introduces several complexities in

terms of achieving a balanced territorial development and social cohesion (Insee

2010)

12 The socio-economic context

In terms of GDP Rhocircne-Alpes is the second French region and the sixth region in the

European Union (Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010)

After Icircle-de-France region (304 of the GDP) RhocircnendashAlpes is the second largest

contributor to the national GDP (97 of the GDP) Between 2007 and 2013

unemployment rate remained below the national average (Table 11) Labour market

conditions have deteriorated as a consequence of the economic crisis but less than

the national average

In spite of the loss of a quarter of the jobs in the industrial sector the region is still

marked by a strong industrial tradition At the end of 2013 the industrial sector

employed 405000 individuals which corresponded to 249 of the regional labour

force The industrial structure of the region is made of different sector specializations

including mechanical equipment metalworking electrical equipment electronics

rubber plastics chemicals and pharmacy (SRDE 2011) Rhocircne-Alpes is the French

leading region in the energy sector including nuclear power and renewable energies

In 2013 agriculture employed 27 of the labour force that is lower than the French

average (31) Most of the labour force (723) is employed in the service sector

that contributes to more than 50 of the regional gross value-added

In terms of overall economic performance Rhocircne-Alpes is comparable to the European

region of Catalonia or Piedmont but is lagging behind the top performing regions of

Northern Europe The region has several strengths including a well-educated labour

force a diversified industrial structure the establishment of several competitive

clusters a good dynamism in creating innovative enterprises and the availability of

several mechanisms to fund innovation It also has some weaknesses that relate to

the suboptimal use of its innovative potential an insufficient number of medium

enterprises and the mono-industrial culture that prevails in some areas of the region

(ERDF OP 2007-2013)

The economic crisis which began in 2008 heavily impacted on the regional economy

While since 2004 Rhocircne-Alpes saw employment increase by 1 on an annual basis

the labor market rapidly deteriorated in 2008 Almost 60000 jobs were lost in one

year The industrial sector proved to be particularly vulnerable especially the

chemical automotive logistic and construction sectors The traditional industrial areas

of Arve Oyonnax Loire Maurienne suffered heavily in terms of enterprise and job

losses The service sector was also heavily penalized as a consequence of lower

demand from the industrial and construction sector Average income in the agriculture

sector fell by 17 in 2008 and by 20 in 2009 The tourism sector was relatively

resilient to the crisis although companies are increasingly affected by higher

fluctuation in the consumption of tourist services (SRDE 2011)

Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the French regions with the highest standard of living In 2010

the median gross annual income reached 19900 euros which ranked Rhocircne-Alpes 3rd

behind Icircle-de-France (21700 euros) and Alsace (20200 euros) Poverty rate in 2012

was 121 which was lower than the national average (143) (INSEE data) However

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 13: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 15

the economic crisis resulted in increased inequalities In particular it had the effect of

radicalizing poverty for already vulnerable populations including the working poor

elder young people and women (SRDE 2011) Territorial disparities also persist and

increased in the aftermath of the economic crisis The region can be roughly divided

into two blocks the most prosperous departments located to the eastern part of the

region (Ain Haute-Savoie Isegravere Rhocircne and Savoie) and the less prosperous

departments of Drocircme and Ardegraveche where incomes have been stagnating

Table 11 A general overview of the social and economic conditions

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 0 pp 108 109 1 pp 100 100 0 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

2011 instead of 2013 Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

13 Tourism and culture sectors

Rhocircne-Alpes is the third largest French destination for tourism which is largely

triggered by the presence of the largest ski areas in the world Besides this a number

of natural and cultural assets including two national parks seven regional parks two

UNESCO sites 13 towns of art and history complete and diversify the tourist offer (see

Appendix 3 and 4 for a detailed list of major cultural and tourist sites) The region is

also an important destination for business tourism having 30 congress towns with

Lyon being the second French best equipped city for holding international congress

Thanks to the variety of its landscape and tourist offer Rhocircne-Alpes is one of the few

French regions that successfully attract tourist both in the winter and summer period

(Insee 2014) According to the regional Tourist Observatory the regional tourist offer

can be grouped in three different categories These are

Mountain tourism (predominately Haute Savoie) This is the most important

tourist destination of the region and has a consolidated tourist offer that is

triggered by some of the world best-known ski resorts (eg Chamonix) and the

attractiveness of Mont Blanc the highest mountain in Europe The three most

visited sites of the region (cable car of Aiguille du Midi Chemin de fer du

Montenvers-Mer de Glace cable car of Breacutevent) are located in this area The

major weakness of this area is to have a tourist offer that is overly focused on

sport and nature and is not able to attract significant flows of tourist in the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

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[Ca

talo

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be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 14: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 16

summer period Vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions is also

high

Urban and cultural tourism (Rhocircne Isegravere and Savoie departments) In this area

tourism is based on the diversified cultural resources of the city of Lyon

Grenoble and Chambery as well as on other minor centers such as Vienne

This is where most of the historical monuments are located However with the

exception of Savoie these areas lacks of a well-defined cultural identity are

little attractive to families and are too dependent on business tourism

Rural tourism (Ain Ardegraveche and Drocircme departments) Tourism in these areas

is based on outdoor activities (eg hiking kayak mountain bike) The

attractiveness of these areas is built upon stunning natural sceneries

(Ardegravechersquos gorges) unique natural parks (eg Parc des Oiseaux de Dombes) or

generally well-preserved natural sites These areas are both emerging (Ain and

Drocircme) and consolidated (Ardegraveche) tourist destinations and are generally

marked by a high seasonality (predominately in the summer period) and

vulnerability to annual changes in weather conditions Territorial marketing is

still insufficiently developed and too fragmented whereas some sites are

difficult to access

The tourism economy is unevenly distributed throughout the region especially in

terms of its relevance for the local economy in comparison to other sectors The

departments of Savoie Haute-Savoie and Ardegraveche are considered tourist areas In

2012 the two departments of Haute-Savoie and Savoie had 50 of the hotels of the

region The department of Rhocircne and Savoie had the highest number of luxury hotels

that corresponded to two-third of the regional offer Differently and because of its

reputation for summer outdoor activities the department of Ardegraveche had 31 of the

regional campsites (Insee 2014)

The contribution of the tourism sector to wealth generation in the region (34) is

higher than the national average (3) Similarly to other French regions food and

accommodation are the activities that most contribute to income generation in the

tourism sector (up to 51) although this figure is much lower than in the neighboring

Provence Alpes Cote drsquoAzur region (66) A characteristic feature of tourism revenues

in Rhocircne-Alpes is the relevant contribution of sport activities (21) that are related to

the existence of large ski resorts The regionrsquos cultural heritage contributes less

(35) than the national average (5) to wealth generation in the tourist sector

(Insee 2014)

The economic impact of activities related to tourism can be measured both in terms of

employment and enterprise development Eurostat data (Table 21) reports that

between 2007 and 2013 the percentage of people working in the tourism sector were

29 and 34 respectively slightly lower than the national average In the same

period the percentage of business units in the tourism sector slightly declined from

106 in 2007 to 104 in 2013 However national data reports a higher percentage of

people employed in the tourism sector (7 in 2012) Most jobs created every year in

the tourism sector are temporary in order to meet the seasonality of the tourist

demand (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

As compared to other French region the tourism sector proved to be more resilient to

the negative effect of the economic crisis Between 2007 and 2013 the number of

tourist arrivals increased by nearly 83 and 116 for domestic and foreign tourists

respectively For the same period Eurostat data reports that total arrivals at tourist

accommodation establishment increased by 37 The increase in the number of

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

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Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 15: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 17

overnight stays reported by Eurostat is too large and is probably due to a

methodological change The average length of stay of tourists in the region declined

from 18 to 19 days Foreign arrivals especially of British and Swiss tourists in the

Alpine area contributed to increase demand for tourist services However French

national tourists remained predominant and accounted on average for 80 of the

touristsrsquo arrival between 2007 and 2013 (Insee database) Interestingly Rhocircne-Alpes

is especially visited by its inhabitant that accounted on average for 26 of the French

tourist in the same period (Observatoire du Tourisme 2013)

Table 12 A general overview of the tourism sector3

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Percentage of workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 978 947 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

In spite of a large variety of sites of cultural interest cultural tourism is

underexploited in Rhocircne-Alpes Between 2008 and 2012 the Museacutee des Beaux-Arts of

Lyon ranked only 29th in a national classification and 7th in a classification of provincial

France The number of museums in Rhocircne-Alpes (97) is almost near to that of the Ile

de France region (104) but the difference is much large in terms of annual visitors

The capital cityrsquos museums attract 284 million visitors per year whereas the

museums of Rhocircne-Alpes are visited by 26 million tourists per year (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013)

As a matter of fact the cultural sector in France is highly marked by a polarization

between the Parisian region and provincial France While the former concentrates 43

of the national labour force of the sector and 35 of the national infrastructure only

three regions including Rhocircne-Alpes emerge for having a relevant contribution of the

cultural sector to the regional economy (Insee 2011)

3 Regional indicator should be provided (if available) For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

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6-5

14-E

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 16: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 18

The presence of well-diversified digital creative industries is a characteristic feature of

Rhocircne-Alpesrsquo culture sector Since 2006 the region fostered the creation of the

Imaginove cluster contributing to the expansion of projects and businesses in the main

sectors of the cultural and creative images industry (eg video games animation

cinema audio-visual multimedia) The cluster is made of 650 companies 23 research

laboratories 28 image-related training courses and international events (Imaginove

2013)

In terms of employment 17 of the regional labour force had a cultural occupation

in 2007 and 21 in 2013 (table 23) The number of business units in culture was

26 in 2007 and 23 in 2013 These data are substantially aligned with the

national averages The employment structure of the sector has two relevant

weaknesses The number of permanent employees per cultural instituteenterprise is

very low as nearly 62 of Rhocircne-Alpes cultural institutions has no permanent

employees and 32 have only between 1 and 4 permanent employees Of the 17330

cultural institutesenterprises in the region only 48 employ at least 50 permanent

employees and the largest ones are all located in Lyon or Grenoble These professions

are also characterized by a higher than average job insecurity with a prevalence of

short-term contracts (Insee La Lettre 2012)

Table 13 A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) NA NA NA 26 26 00 pp 26 26 0 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 0 pp

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20

-01 pp

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash

Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

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ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 17: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 19

2 The regional ERDF 2007-2013 strategy in the culture and tourism sectors

21 Overview of the ERDF strategy

Building on a diagnosis of the regional comparative advantages and disadvantages

the 2007-2013 ERDF OP for the Rhocircne-Alpes region is focused on three main strategic

priorities These are 1) improve the knowledge economy and increase innovation to

boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

2) ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets

to increase their competitiveness and 3) implement an action plan for the sustainable

development of the Rhocircne river At the operational level these strategic priorities

were translated in five axes and further articulated in 20 measures (Figure 21)

Figure 21 Outline of the strategic framework of the Rhocircne-Alpes 2007-2013

ERDF OP and fund allocation Priority Strategic goals Operational axes Funding (absolute amp

percentage values)

1 Improve the Knowledge economy and increase innovation to boost the competitiveness of the region both at the European and international level

Support technological innovation to benefit enterprises

Anticipate changes to support the development of SMEs and micro-enterprises

Promote the Information Society

1 Innovation and economic growth

121Meuro (36)

2 Ensure the sustainable development of the regional territory building on their assets to increase their competitiveness

Sustainable development of the territory of the region

Fight against global warming

Improve attractiveness of living conditions and of the environment

2 Diversification and promotion of economic activities 3 Environment and risk prevention 4 Accessibility transport and ICT

83 Meuro (25)

48 Meuro (14)

53 Meuro (15)

3 Implement an action

plan for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

Promote the cultural

heritage of the Rhocircne river

Water quality biodiversity and sharing of water resources

Foster development of river transport

Ensure the development of a quality tourism for the river and its banks

5 Economic

development and environmental protection of the river Rhocircne

19 Meuro (5)

6 Technical assistance 10 Meuro (3)

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from OP and DOMO documents

Overall the OP was well aligned with the EU key objectives identified in the Lisbon

strategy and also responded to the main socio-economic challenges facing the region

Two key themes are prioritized both as specific targets and horizontally integrated

targets These are innovation (Axis I) and sustainable development (Axis II) Because

of the highly diversified landscape and economic structure of the region promoting a

balanced territorial development was also another key theme of the 2007-2013 OP

(Ernest Young 2010)

Support to the tourism and cultural sector followed a two-fold approach to fit within

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 18: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 20

the overall strategy design (Table 21) In particular tourism was considered

instrumental for diversifying the regional economy A measure focused on the tourism

sectorwas thus included within the Axis II This was measure 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo Tourism and

culture were also deemed relevant for the sustainable development of the Rhocircne river

and its valleys Therefore two measures were included under the Axis V These were

measure 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo and

measure 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and

its banksrdquo (ERDF OP 2007-2013)

Table 21 Summary of tourism and culture specific measures

Tourism and culture specific measures Axis ERDF allocations ( of the Axis)

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

II 196 Meuro (24)

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river V 4 Meuro(21)

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

V 35 Meuro (18)

Source Domo 2011

Other measures supporting tourism and cultures within the OP Because tourism is a

relevant sector of the economy of the region other ERDF measures also indirectly

contributed to support it This includes support to innovative enterprises or for

improving energy efficiency of buildings For instance the project concerning the

rehabilitation of the holiday center la Fontaine drsquoAnnibal agrave Buis-les-Baronnies (Axis 3

measure 12 support to energy efficiencyrdquo) had a social and sustainable tourism

development purpose Similarly because the region attaches great importance to the

use of ICTs in developing new cultural products and new modalities of enjoying

cultural experiences creative industries benefited from ERDF financing As an

example the project Arts and Science (Axis 1 measure 4 ldquodevelopment of an

entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo) puts together the work of scientists and

artists to create shows or exhibitions that combine science and the art work in relation

to new technologies Within the same measure another example of innovative project

is DYNAMIT which supported the advanced use of animation physics in 3D animation

and video games industries The cumulative ERDF contribution for the two projects

amounted to EUR 1131911 for a total cost of investment of EUR 2246723 The

urban integrated projects allocated EUR 3659934 ERDF to culture and EUR 71000

ERDF to tourism

Complementarities with other EU programmes Synergies and complementarities with

other EU regional programmes targeting the region are well addressed in the OP The

EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) supports micro-enterprises

in rural tourism The mountainous areas of the region also receive support within the

framework of cross-border or interregional OPs For instance the Alcotra cross-border

programme between the alpine regions of France and Italy includes interventions for

tourism the interregional programme for the Massif des Alpes (POMA) has a measure

for developing and renovating the local tourist offer the OP for the Massif Central

(POMAC) has a measure to develop the tourist potential of the area and the OP Massif

du Jura of Franche-Comteacute region has interventions aiming at improving the existing

tourist offer Finally the axis V of the ERDF OP can also be seen as a complement to

the Interregional Programme for the Rhocircne River that does not foresee measures that

support culture and tourism Overall the measures foreseen by the various EU

programmes do not overlap in terms of target beneficiaries and objectives as areas

that already received support from other EU programmes were not targeted by the

ERDF OP

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

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[Ca

talo

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be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 19: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 21

Regional strategy and programmes for the tourism sector Alignment with regional

tourist sector strategies is also high Acknowledging the contribution of the tourism

sector to the economy of the region in 2008 the Rhocircne-Alpes regional council

released a regional development plan for tourism and leisure (Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs ndash SRDTL) The strategy considers tourism

to be an instrument to achieve a more balanced territorial development that is able to

combine economic social and environmental dimensions It addresses the challenges

of increased competition from other European and international regions the impact of

climate change the emergence of new modalities of experiencing tourism activities

(eg slow tourism) and the problems related to the seasonality of tourist demand The

strategy has three operational axes These are i) using tourism to improve the

attractiveness of the region ii) making the tourism offer accessible to everyone and

iii) develop a tourist offer that is based on natural assets (eg agro-tourism eco-

tourism less polluting modes of transport) To achieve these objectives the strategy

undertakes to support local actors with designing coherent tourism strategy

encourage local tourism support tourist businesses and foster innovative tourist

offers The themes of accessible and sustainable tourism as well that of improved

territorial marketing area also relevant for the ERDF OP

The implementation of the strategy is based upon different instruments including the

regional funds for supporting tourist companies (FRACET - Fonds Reacutegional drsquoAide au

Conseil pour les Entreprises Touristiques) the regional sustainable development

contracts4 (CDDRA - Contrats de Deacuteveloppement Durable Rhocircne-Alpes) the regional

contracts for job training (CTEF - Contrats Territoriaux Emplois Formation) and the

network of sustainable tourism associations (TAVS - Tourisme Associatif agrave Vocation

Sociale) (SRDTL 2008)

Regional strategy and programmes for the culture sector Alignment with regional

culture programmes is lower because the concerned OP measure is narrowly set to

promote the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river Traditionally the French

state has had a central and active role in establishing cultural policies and in

promoting access to culture as part of individual development and self-fulfillment The

rationale for the state intervention stems on culture being considered a collective

property to be shared protected and promoted (Council of EuropeERICarts 2014)

Between 2004 and 2011 the share of budget allocated to the cultural sector by the

French regions increased from 2 up to 4 Rhocircne-Alpes has the highest amounts

allocated to the sector As in other French regions the largest chunk of support goes

to performing arts (46) followed by publishing industry (17) and cultural services

(10) (2008 data from the Regional Council web site) A total of 59 performing arts

companies is currently supported by the Regional Council that provides them with

financing for over three years to help them better structure their performances and

compete on the national scale Most interventions in favor of the publishing industry

are targeted to assist a declining industry

A relevant priority theme for the regional cultural policy is the use of ICTs for

developing cultural products that also responds to a national priority The region

established a special fund to support digital artistic creations (Fonds de Soutien agrave la

creacuteation artistique numeacuterique Scan) to support artistic renewal and the emergence of

a new creative economy sector based on ICTs (Associations des Reacutegions de France

2012) None of the concerned OP measures address this issue that is better dealt

4 CDDRA are a partnership tool between the region and the 45 local jurisdictions of Rhone-Alpes Each CDDRA includes a tourism component that can support the following actions local tourism development networking of stakeholders development of cultural tourism and agro-tourism improve accessibility of tourism infrastructure marketing and accommodation development reduce seasonality of tourist flows

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 20: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 22

within the measure ldquodevelopment of an entrepreneurial and innovation culturerdquo of Axis

I as illustrated in the two project examples provide above

The Rhocircne River development plan Because of the strategic importance of the Rhocircne

river for the economic development of the region starting from 2004 a specific

strategy framework was developed to coordinate a variety of public interventions

targeting the river and its valleys The interregional programme 2007-2013 for the

Rhocircne river establishes the main lines of actions for a sustainable development of the

river and its valleys It includes two priority areas targeting the sector of tourism and

culture that are managed by the Regional Council of Rhocircne-Alpes In particular

interventions in the field of culture are set to foster a recovery of the river cultural

heritage (identiteacute Rhodanienne) by its inhabitants through actions that take stock and

rehabilitate the river natural and cultural assets and support cultural events related to

the riverrsquos history (eg Saison du fleuve Rhocircne) As a complement to these actions

the tourism component aims at developing sustainable tourism activities along the

riverrsquos valley (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) As a matter of fact the Plan Rhocircne provided

the strategic framework for the entire Axis V including the two measures targeting

the culture and tourist sectors

22 Rationale and objectives of the ERDF strategy in the tourism and culture

sectors

The three measures of the OP pursue different objectives and are all based on strong

rationale for public intervention that are related to different market failures as

illustrated in the table below

Table 22 Summary of rationale and objectives of the measures related to

culture and tourism Sector Major market failure Major change pursued Regional strategic

reference document

Tourism Fragmentation of the market

Missing or underdeveloped market for the primary attraction Information failure on less developed destinations

Diversify the local economy

achieve a more balanced territorial growth Support innovation and competitiveness of the sector Provide a driver for development in economically declining areas

Scheacutema Reacutegional de

Deacuteveloppement du Tourisme et des Loisirs CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Culture Missing or underdeveloped markets Lack of cultureleisure infrastructure

Promote a regional identity social or community inclusion or cohesion

CPIER Plan Rhocircne

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from ERDF OP 2007-2013 and interviews

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development Tourism is an important economic activity for the region both in terms

of income and employment creation However in spite of a good performance of the

sector as compared to other national peers the tourist sector has started declining

from 1995 From 1995 to 2013 the number of overnight stays declined from EUR

1306 to EUR 1135 million ie corresponding to an overall drop of 13 (Observatoire

Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013) Public intervention is perceived as necessary to support

emerging tourist destinations that would help redress existing territorial unbalances

and to renovate the existing tourist offer to better compete with alternative

destinations In most rural areas the private sector fails to develop adequate tourist

services whereas local communities are not used to actively promote their cultural or

natural assets within the framework of well-designed and coherent strategies (Reacutegion

Rhocircne-Alpes 2008) Finally the pursue of social purposes such as accessible tourism

both for low-income groups and people with disabilities also created a strong rationale

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

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Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 21: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 23

for the public intervention as the lack of uncertainty of profit prospects discourage

private investments Actions planned under this measure generally aims at stopping

the declining trend of tourist flows They are set to promote a sustainable

development approach for the tourism industry and to deploy measures that would

counterbalance the negative effect of climate change such as for the ski stations at

medium altitudes By targeting both public and private tourist operators these

interventions aim at improving local capacities to develop a more attractive tourist

offer and create new tourist tools including by making better use of ICTs

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river The idea of promoting

the Rhocircne river cultural natural and historical heritage is relatively recent and

requires thus to be supported through public interventions that lay the foundations for

further developments (CPIER Plan Rhocircne 2007) In addition the very nature of the

interventions foreseen under this measure (ie promote the river cultural heritage as

a public good and raise awareness about the river cultural heritage) that have limited

commercial components establishes a strong rationale for public intervention

Interventions under this measure are set to promote the rediscovery of the river by

the inhabitants of the region by building upon the riverrsquos cultural and natural heritage

Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

The river Rhocircne is one of the cornerstones of the cultural identity of region However

tourism along the Rhocircne river is underdeveloped especially in relation to the high

number of people that transit every year along the riverrsquos valley to reach the tourist

region of Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur The tourist offer along the Rhocircne river valley is

highly fragmented and there has been little coordination amongst the different public

and private entities involved in developing and promoting tourist sites and attractions

A long-term and shared vision needed to be elaborated to ensure coherence and

coordination of the different stakeholders involved in promoting tourist and leisure

activities along the river In this context financing from the ERDF is seen as a

complement of already planned regional or inter-regional interventions that proved to

be difficult to implement in the past (ERDF OP 2007-2013) By establishing strong

linkages with other public development plans including the Interregional OP for the

Rhocircne river this measure tries to overcome the fragmentation of past interventions

through a better coordination of the riversidersquos communes and integrating tourist

interventions upstream and downstream of the river (eg the ViaRhona bicycle route)

23 The main elements of the ERDF strategy

As illustrated in the table below the ERDF strategy supported a large variety of

interventions including both hard and soft measures

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 22: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 24

Table 23 Mapping of measures and typologies of interventions Measure Actions Typology of

interventions ERDF

allocations

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Territorial marketing Investments in infrastructure Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Events

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

171 Development of networks 172 Promotion and dissemination of the river heritage 173 Heritage development 174 Development of communication tools

Infrastructure investment (rehabilitation of sites) Cultural products Diagnostic and counselling

Not available by type of action of typology of interventions

20 Ensure the development of a quality

tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

201 Development of methodological and strategy

tools 202 Set of accommodation standards 203 Structuring and development of existing and new leisure activities 204 Support to integrating projects 205 Development of river tourism

Infrastructure investment

Investment to improve security of access and accessibility Territorial marketing Studies

Not available by type of action of

typology of interventions

Source authorrsquos elaboration DOMO 2011 and Presage

The programming documents do not establish a priority amongst the different actions

or typologies of interventions except for the sub-measure concerning the Restitution

space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development An analysis of the actual

expenditure is needed to match allocations with typologies of interventions and is

provided in the section dealing with the implementation of the strategy Similarly

whereas the programming documents articulate in great details actions and sub-

actions they fail to provide a description of the type of projects that would have been

supported

Each measure had a specific territorial target These were

Declining tourist destinations or areas that have an underdeveloped tourist

potential including for instance the rural departments of Ardeche or Ain Rural

areas were a major target whereas the areas of Massif Central Massif des

Alpes and Massif du Jura that were already covered by the tourism component

of other interregional OPs were not eligible of support

The Rhocircne river These interventions concerned a variety of fluvial rural and

urban landscapes Interventions that support the culture sector mostly targeted

urban areas To ensure a balanced distribution of funds along the Rhocircne river

this was divided in three geographical areas

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

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be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 23: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 25

Table 24 Distribution of ERDF allocations by geographical areas Geographical target ERDF allocations Meuro Number of planned projects

Region wide 196 Meuro Not defined

Rhocircne river Rhocircne aval from Monteacutelimar to the

geographical limits of the region Rhocircne moyen from Lyon to

Monteacutelimar Haut Rhocircne from the Swiss border

to Lyon

75 Meuro Not defined

Source DOMO 2011

Eligible beneficiaries for the three measures include local associations and groups

public institutions business consortia and businesses museums universities research

laboratories and institutions managing the cultural heritage Because of the nature of

the interventions supported and the lack of markets these measures were overly

geared towards supporting either public sector institutions or not-for-profit

organizations especially in the field of culture Private businesses were not even

included in the list of potential beneficiaries for the projects targeting tourism and

culture along the Rhocircne river (Domo 2011)

24 Governance and supportive features of the ERDF strategy

Governance

The Prefect of Rhocircne-Alpes through its department in charge of regional affairs

(SGAR Secreacutetariat geacuteneacuteral pour les affaires regionals) was the designated Managing

Authority for the ERDF OP on competitiveness and employment 2007-2013 As for the

tourism and culture sectors programming and implementing functions were shared

between the prefect and the regional council This introduced a novelty as compared

to the previous programming period 2000-2006 when the region was a stakeholder

for the two measures5 targeting the tourist and culture sectors and did not have

implementation responsibilities

Within the state services in the region the Direccte (Direction reacutegionale des

entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi) was

the implementing agency for projects included under the measure ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo The regional

council was the Intermediary Body for the entire Axe V targeting the development of

the Rhocircne river valley The directorate for local development policies (DPT Direction

des Politiques Territoriales) was responsible for the implementation of all measures

foreseen under this Axis including tourism and culture

It appears that there was no systematic framework in place to ensure collaboration

between the Direccte and the regional authorities on the measures related to tourism

and culture Having a different geographical target the three measures coexisted

rather than then having being integrated in a single strategic framework

Selection criteria

It was established that all co-financed projects had to follow a sustainable

development approach that is based on pursuing the three goals of economic

environmental and social development through a participatory approach (ERDF OP

2007-2013) In addition to this three horizontal themes were defined as horizontal

qualitative selection criteria and were applied consistently by the authorities

5 These were develop and strengthen the tourist and cultural attractiveness of the Rhocircne Alpes territories and strenghten the adaptation capacity of tourist and cultural operators

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

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um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 24: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 26

responsible for the implementation of each measure These were innovation6 ICT and

environment The percentage of selected projects that fulfilled thesecriteria is

displayed in the charts below

Most innovations refer to the type of products delivered whereas partnership

arrangements were most innovative for projects financed under the ldquoDevelop tourism

by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo measure

There is a high percentage of non-reported assessment under the two measures

targeting the Rhocircne river (Figure 22) which is due to the minor relevance of

innovation for this measure as compared to the other measure

Figure 22 Percentage of projects that fulfil the innovation criteria by type of

measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

Many of the selected projects integrate the environment theme (Figure 23) This

reflects the fact that sustainable development and environment protection were used

as key selection criteria

Figure 23 Percentage of projects that fulfil the environment criteria by type

of measures

Source authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE (end of 2014)

6 Innovation was defined along three dimensions namely delivery of an innovative output in terms of products or services implementation mechanism or partnership arrangement Projects that fulfilled more than one criteria were classified as ldquomultiplerdquo

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

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be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 25: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 27

Besides the three thematic criteria more specific selection criteria were identified and

applied to each measure (Table 25)

Table 25 Detailed selection criteria for the OP measures targeting the

tourism and culture sectors Measure Selection criteria

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Improve traffic or waste management economic management of natural resources remarkable leverage effect on the local economy development of all year round tourist activities coherence with other regional strategies improve capacity of local tourist operators

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Inter-regional relevance linkages with other Plan Rhocircne projects co-managed projects improved networking activities knowledge development and dissemination amongst a wide audience mobilization of public and heritage interest potential for dissemination of information

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Management of tourist flows protection of land and river areas development of intermodal transportation coherence with other regional actions coherence with the regional tourism plan development of intermodal transportation economic value added integration within a global tourist project

Source Domo 2011

Among these criteria priority was given to projects which align with existing national

or regional strategies and to the so-called enabling projects (projets structurants)

These are projects that fulfill a number of specific criteria First these projects are

expected to bring economic value added and a leverage effect on the local economy

Second they are based on partnership amongst different institutions and try to

integrate different components of the tourist offer to establish a stronger and more

complete tourist environment (eg accommodation with leisure activities tourist

promotion with leisure activities) Third they are implemented by a beneficiary with a

solid project design and project management capacity The combination of these

criteria effectively allowed identifying interesting projects that were grounded on clear

strategic visions and had the capacity to mobilize different resources and partners In

this respect the two mini-case studies ldquoSaint-Pierre-de-Bœufrsquos leisure center

renovationrdquo and ldquoValorisation of destination Ainrdquo that complement the present report

offer an insight of these types of projects Another remarkable example is the replica

of the Chauvet Cave (Box 21)

Box 21 Rhocircne Alpes regionrsquos flagship project for culture and tourism la

Caverne du Pont DrsquoArc

Situated in Ardegraveche department the replica of the Chauvet Cave which contains replicas of

painting dating back to the Aurignacian Era (ie about 36000 years ago) had a national and international relevance given that it targeted a site that has been listed within the UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites The project had an ERDF financial allocation of 127 million euros that also included measures to rehabilitate tourist sites in the caversquos surrounding area and a total project cost of 55 million euros The project is unique both for its size (it covers 3000 msup2

of ground and 8180 msup2 of geological facies) and its combination of cultural scientific and technological features All the paintings are reproduced on a scale of 11 in an environment that recreate the original underground environment (eg freshness humidity and darkness) (wwwlacavernedupontdarcorg) From a regional development perspective the project remains highly interesting as its goal extends beyond the creation of a tourist facility and tries to diversify the tourist offer of the

department that is overly oriented towards outdoor sport activities (ADE 2012) The project managed indeed to catalyse a discussion about the quality and the structure of the cultural and tourism offer in the area and made possible the realization of other cultural and tourist projects in the area with ERDF support (eg Valorisation du site archeacuteologique deacutepartemental dAlba-la-Romaine and Reacutehabilitation du site feacuteodal du Vieux Vallon) The project also initiated a debate on environmental and sustainable development issues looking as an example at how to

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

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um

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 26: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 28

promote local and bio food supply to the restaurants of the area (ADE 2012) The project goal was to attract between 300000 and 400000 visitors annually The cave is currently a flagship attraction for the area Since its opening on 25th April 2015 it has been

visited by an average daily number of 3000 visitors and there are already 100000 reserved tickets for the next months (Le Figaro 2015) It remains however to be seen whether the other complementary measures that were designed to use the leverage effect of the cave on the neighboring area are going to materialize

A major weakness in the applied selection criteria is the lack of consideration for the

financial sustainability of projects As a matter of fact the financial sustainability of

projects was not defined as an overall selection criterion to be used consistently

throughout the OP but it rather applied to specific measures or sub-measures (eg

support to the ICT sector) The financial solidity of beneficiaries especially in the case

of cultural associations was assessed to ensure project completion but projects were

not selected for their capacity to generate revenues that help sustain the operational

costs in the future

From the beneficiary perspectives it was reported that selection and eligibility criteria

were too much driven by the Lisbon objectives concerning innovation and sustainable

development This excluded or marginalized some categories of interventions such as

social tourism and supporting measures for renovating the existing accommodation

infrastructure that were deemed relevant by the local stakeholders to respond to local

needs (Ernest amp Young 2010) As an example improving access to tourist facilities to

low income groups from the region was another objective of the OP as well as of the

regional tourism strategy However because of limitation of eligible expenditures it

was addressed only through one project (Augmentation de loffre de seacutejour EEDF agrave

destination des jeunes issus de familles agrave faibles revenus)

Quality of the monitoring and evaluation systems

Standardization of monitoring practices and the finalization of the monitoring system

proved to be a challenge because of the number of different regional and state

authorities involved in implementing the ERDF OP In 2010 a consulting company

(EDATER) was selected to assist the identification and the collection of monitoring

indicators and to store them properly in the PRESAGE (programme for monitoring

managing and evaluation co-financed programmes) database The monitoring system

was finalized and became fully operational in 2010 when monitoring indicators were

fully recorded based on common rules and principles (RAE 2012)

Identification of indicators that monitor the performance of the measures related to

culture and tourism proved to be problematic (Table 26) Output indicators in terms

of number of projects assisted were only set for the measures concerning the Rhocircne

river The target values were defined at the axis level but not disaggregated by

measure

Table 26 Selected output and outcome indicators for measures related to

culture and tourism

Measure Output indicators Outcome indicators

9 Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable development

Not defined Growth rate of attendance of the assisted tourist site

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Number of projects by geographical area

Not defined

Source Domo 2011 and ERDF OP 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 27: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 29

The measure ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable developmentrdquo identified the percentage change in the number of visitors

to a site at the end of the ERDF support as outcome indicator (Domo 2011) However

the indicator was not systematically collected from beneficiaries because of difficulties

in collecting this information for certain interventions which did not address a specific

site (eg territorial marketing projects) The need to reduce and minimize the number

of indicators applied to the OP led the managing authority towards identifying a

synthesis indicator that was however not appropriate to account for the variety of

interventions supported

The three target measures were annually monitored in terms of project progress (eg

number of project assisted funds planned and disbursed) and results reported in the

annual implementation report For some projects the annual reports also provide a

qualitative of the most successful projects supported

Use of public-private partnerships

The delivery of the financed interventions was not based on a public-private

partnership as most projects were designed to target public actors and were thus

built upon a public-public partnership involving different territorial authorities A

notable exception is the Chauvet cave project that was financed through public funds

but is operated by a private company (Kleber-Rossillon) within the framework of a

public service delegation contract

Typologies of contracts

As interventions mostly target public actors and were not designed to get an

immediate financial return all ERDF funds under the concerned measures were

delivered in the form of grant

Interventions were identified upon three different modalities i) call for projects ii)

open-end call for projects and iii) identification through national or regional planning

documents (Table 27) Call for projects were used more frequently than in the

previous funding period and were reported to be valuable instruments for ensuring

selection of quality projects avoid dispersion of funding on too many micro-projects

and strengthen relevance of projects to the local contexts thanks to a reinforced

participation of local actors

Table 27 ERDF allocation by typologies of contracts by measure or sub-

measure Measure Typology of contract ERDF amount

91 Use of ICTs for information gathering reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer 92 Support for projects building on natural and cultural heritage and developed with a global territorial approach 93 Restitution Space of the Chauvet Cave and its territorial development

Call for projects Call for projects National strategy

50504

7176835

12703861

17 Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne river

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

5937599

20 Ensure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Open-end call for projects (first come first served principle along with adherence to the Plan Rhocircne)

4140248

Source Presage data at December 2014

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

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[Ca

talo

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 28: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 30

Tools for the involvement of the stakeholders and the management of partnerships

In France regional policies and EU Structural Funds are mainly designed and managed

at the regional level but also involve a close cooperation between different regional

and local authorities Each region and departments has a prefect who represents the

state and supervises the services of the State at the regional or departmental level

(ADE 2012) A network of public authorities (reacutefeacuterents Europe) was established to

facilitate the exchange of information and experiences amongst the different

authorities in charge of managing the ERDF programmes The network included

persons responsible for managing the ERDF components within the regional and

departmental prefects intermediary bodies within state services Meetings were

regularly organized during the year and the regional council services were also invited

to participate This mechanism was considered particularly useful to achieve a better

local ownership and representativeness of local issues within the selected projects

(Ernest amp Young 2010)

However it appears that the two services responsible for implementing the measures

concerned by this evaluation the Direccte and the regional council used their own

institutional network of contacts separately

25 The implementation process

Because the three concerned measures were implemented by different public bodies

and followed different delivery modalities the realization of these interventions faced

different challenges

Develop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable

development The decision to use call for projects introduced an innovation in the

system that initially overburdened the responsible services The first two calls for

projects were organized with a short delay that did not give adequate time to support

beneficiaries of the first call in the initial phase of projectsrsquo implementation Projectsrsquo

assessment also proved to be challenging because of the large number of proposals

received (160 for the first call and 101 for the second call to be assessed in six

months) and a lack of clarity concerning eligibility and selection criteria It should be

noted that the first call occurred at a critical time for local communities in the

aftermath of municipal election that led to the deposit of numerous but uncompleted

applications There was an initial concentration of funding that favored the actors that

already had a strong project design capacity and financial absorption capacity This

distortion was redressed in the second call for projects when a more balanced

territorial distribution of projects was achieved (Ernest amp Young 2010)

The phasing of project calls in terms of type of interventions targeted was reported

to be well-structured given that the first call for projects aimed at supporting

feasibility studies and diagnostic analysis whereas the second call was more geared

towards supporting physical interventions and more complex projects that allows to

fully allocate the available funds (Ernest amp Young 2010)

Development of tourism and culture along the Rhocircne river and its valley The

interventions concerning these measures had a delayed start because of the initial

difficulty in identifying projects A risk of under-performance in terms of use of the

available funding and of excessive fragmentation of the available financial envelope

across too many small projects (especially for culture) was reported in the mid-term

evaluation of the OP in 2010 For instance for the measure targeting the culture

sector there was merely 500000 euro of ERDF funds programmed for less than 15

projects at the beginning of 2010 In the same period the number of programmed

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

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(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

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[Ca

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 29: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 31

projects for the measure targeting tourism was equal to 5

The measure related to culture had the highest fragmentation of ERDF credits This

was indeed the measure that supported the highest number of projects in relation to

the funds available This resulted from the large number of projects targeting events

and cultural products (63 projects with an average ERDF contribution of approximately

EUR 38000) In spite of a high number of projects approved under this category the

number of beneficiaries was far more limited as most cultural associations or

institutions received financing for at least two projects For instance the Association

Woodstower7 received four ERDF grants for four consecutive years for putting in place

shows that valorize the Rhocircne river Similarly the performing art company Louxor

Spectacles et Creacuteateurs received six grants for organizing shows along the river

Fragmentation is also related to the high number of applications received under this

measure This was reported to be related to the declining public resources for the

culture sector that made the ERDF funds a vital source of financing Differently the

potential number of applicants for the measure targeting the tourist sector was

structurally limited by the underdevelopment of fluvial tourism in Rhocircne Alpes

Implementation delays were determined by three factors First 2007-2013 was the

first ERDF programming period in which the regional council was acting as

intermediary body It was reported that the staff of the DPT had to familiarize with

new tasks and procedures at the beginning of implementation Secondly the low

familiarity with ERDF procedures for some beneficiaries especially cultural

associations was reported to be another cause of delay as projects needed to be

revised and strengthened before being eligible for approval Changes of the

implementation rules throughout the programming period were also reported to be a

source of instability for beneficiaries As a consequence many follow up actions were

necessary to assist the beneficiaries with the lowest administrative capacity (eg

management of a large number of clarification requests many back and forward of

administrative documentation) These also included site visits that were necessary to

put projects back on track Thirdly there were a limited number of potentially eligible

projects for tourism development along the Rhocircne river

To sum up implementation of the three measures followed a different path that was

determined by the experience of both the beneficiaries of the measures and the

implementing agency For the measure related to culture implementation was more

problematic and close monitoring and assistance had to be delivered to avoid possible

project failures This added additional workload to the responsible public services

The selection procedure and the typologies of intervention financed contributed to limit

fragmentation of allocations in the two measures addressing the tourist sector

Differently the need to support a large number of associations over the programing

period led to high fragmentation of grants in the measure for the culture sector

As for the geographical allocation of the ERDF funds (Table 26) the following can be

noted

Coherently with the ERFD strategy for the tourist sector funds were directed to areas

with an underdeveloped tourist potential This is the case of the rural departments of

Ardeche Ain and to a lesser extent Drome and Loire department Ardeche is the

department whichreceived the highest amount of funding to support tourism

development This is linked to the large investments required for developing the

Chauvet cave project but also includes other type of support As a matter of fact

7 Since 1996 the Association organizes the Woodstower Festival a music and theater festival in the city of Lyon

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

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be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 30: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 32

Ardeche as compared to the other rural departments of the region has a far less

diversified economy and relies much more on developing tourism as an alternative

economic activity Symmetrically the Haute Savoie Rhocircne and Isere departments

that have a more developed tourist sector and diversified economic activities received

little assistance In contrast with this picture Savoie also a department with a well-

developed tourist offer and infrastructure was the second largest recipient of ERDF

support This is due to the fact that Savoiersquos economy heavily depends on tourism

that is strongly concentrated in a limited geographical area (Tarentaise) Actually in

terms of wealth generated by the tourism sector Savoie is the most developed tourist

department of France (Insee 2014)

Funds for culture were overwhelmingly allocated to the Rhocircne department This is

clearly an asymmetrythat was justified by the fact that most potential beneficiaries

had their siege in Lyon and that there were little alternatives in other areas

especially considering the limited theme addressed by these interventions

Furthermore by concentrating cultural initiatives in Lyon a larger public attendance

was ensured However this is somehow in contrast with the purpose of building a

regional identity upon the Rhocircne river as this would have implied a more balanced

geographical distribution of initiatives

In line with with the objectives set by the ERDF strategy for developing tourism along

the Rhocircne River funds were evenly allocated in the concerned departments As

compared to the other tourist measure these interventions were more evenly

distributed following the concept of developing the river area as an integrating factor

for regional identity The department of Savoy was the largest recipient but

interventions did not concern highly developed tourist areas It is also important to

notice that possibilities to intervene were determined by the river structure and

environmental constraints

Table 28 Geographical distribution of ERDF allocations by type of measure Department Develop tourism by

developing tourism assets innovation and

sustainable development

Promoting the cultural heritage and identity of

the Rhocircne river

Ensure the development of a quality tourism

along the river Rhocircne and its banks

Ain 1046208 179276 710207

Ardeche 14799631 216513 316308

Drocircme 525214 18156 401988

Isegravere 521894 0 128762

Loire 1068622 0 848064

Rhocircne 292789 2993650 434776

Savoie 1349010 41015 1109521

Haute-Savoie 389930 13183 0

Multiple 366852 1257156 190621

Source Authorrsquos elaboration of data provided by the MA

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 31: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 33

3 Effectiveness and sustainability of the strategy outputs and results

31 Outputs achieved

At the end of 2013 984 of the ERDF funds for the OP 2007-2013 were allocated to

specific interventions and 621 of payments were already made This made the

Rhocircne-Alpes region one of the top-permoning French regions in terms of ERDF

absorption (RAE 2013) The measures supporting the tourism and culture sector also

achieved a similar good performance (Table 31)

Table 31 Programming and payment rate at December 2014 by type of

measure

Type of measure No of

projects Programming

rate Payment

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 9874 617

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 1207 684

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 10139 635

Source Managing Authority

In spite of an initial risk of under-commitment of funds especially for the measures

linked to the Rhocircne river plan funds were fully committed as demand and project

design capacity of potential beneficiaries proved to be strong Differences in

programming rate were due to the different methods used for allocating funds

Initially the ERDF 2007-2013 OP and the related implementation plan (Domo) did

not set a target number of projects to be used as a baseline to verify whether planned

outputs were achieved In 2011 an updated version of the Domo identified a target

number of projects to be implemented under Axis V However it was elaborated

following a geographical criterion rather than by type of measure and it cannot be

used for the purpose of this analysis

At the end of 2014 approved projects were well progressed Because of the initial

delays completion rate is lower for projects targeting the Rhone river area (Table

32)

Table 32 Number of completed and on-going projects at December 2014 by

type of measure

Type of measure Approved

projects

Completed

projects

Completion

rate

no 9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

117 102 87

no 17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo

80 72 90

no 20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

27 18 66

Source Authorrsquos elaboration from PRESAGE

The average ERDF contribution to all the three measures was 411 beign the

highest for cultural projects (48) and lowest for tourism projects targeting the

Rhocircne river valleys (326) A summary table of the interventions supported by the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

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[Ca

talo

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e n

um

be

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 32: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 34

ERDF funds by categories of interventions is presented below

Table 33 Summary table of approved projects by type of measure

Lines of activityActions Ndeg of

projects

ERDF support (total and per project)

Largest of projects at action

level Total

(mil

euro)

Median

(mil

euro)

Minimum

(euro)

Maximum

(mil

euro)

Measure 9 Develop

tourism by developing

tourism assets innovation

and sustainable

development

117 204 005 3299 73

Territorial marketing 73 49 005 3299 099

Pocircle touristique Mode chapeau et

meacutetiers darts (991831) Creacuteation

dune vitrine touristique de lAin

au Parc des Oiseaux (600000)

Infrastructure investment 29 148 015 19505 73

Reacutealisation de lEspace de

Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont dArc- Tranche 3

(7300638) Tranche 2

(2914791)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

10 05 006 15035 033

Valorisation du patrimoine

touristique naturel et culturel

(339581) Ameacutenagement de la

maison du terroir et du patrimoine

(202000)

Others (events and tourism

development instruments 5 02 003 16238 010

Ardeacutechoise Permanente - Mise en

place dun dispositif de

chronomeacutetrage (198329)

Accompagnement en ingeacutenierie des pocircles touristiques du

patrimoine (93000)

Measure 17 Promoting the

cultural heritage and

identity of the Rhocircne river

80 59 013 8033 37

Infrastructure 6 32 026 45120 37

La reacutehabilitation et la

sceacutenographie du Centre eau et

nature des Allivoz (3758800)

Reacutehabilitation du vieux pont de

Rochemaure (1353204)

Diagnostic and counselling 11 025 013 8033 014

Banque de donneacutees Fleuve

Patrimoine et photothegraveque du

Fleuve Rhocircne phase de

deacuteveloppement 2010 (142854)

Deacuteveloppement du site portail fleuveRhocircnecom (93000)

Events or cultural products 63 245 003 6720 055 La Turbine (556985)Le chant du

fleuve (263154)

Measure 20 Ensure the

development of a quality

tourism along the river

Rhocircne and its banks

27 414 004 568698 19

Territorial marketing 3 018 005 22510 010

Signalisation directionnelle et

dinformations touristiques sur les

tronccedilons reacutealiseacutes par le Conseil

geacuteneacuteral de la Drocircme (103335)

Communication relative au projet

ditineacuteraire ViaRhocircna (84925)

Infrastructure investment 18 387 016 7916 19

Ameacutenagement dun site portuaire

sur la commune de Virignin - phase 2 (1973890)

Requalification de lespace eaux

vives du Pilat Rhodanien agrave Saint-

Pierre-de-Boeuf (1827550)

Infrastructure (improve

security of

accessaccessibility)

2 004 002 21469 004

Creacuteation dune mission dexpertise

en accessibiliteacute des sites du Haut

Rhocircne 2e anneacutee (44561)

Others (studies) 4 005 001 5687 003

Reacutealisation dune eacutetude pour

linteacutegration de la dimension

Deacuteveloppement durable dans le

projet de reacutenovation du Port des

Roches de Condrieu (38850)

Total 224 305 005 468 1412

Source Regional monitoring data base of ERDF Project 2007-2013 (UPDATED AT 31122014) Average co-financing rate = 583

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 33: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 35

Funds absorption was driven by infrastructure investments More than 50 of total

ERDF funds went to support infrastructure investments This occurred in all the three

concerned measures although it was more prominent for the tourist sector especially

for projects targeting the Rhocircne river area In the measure addressing the culture

sector infrastructure investments concerned a limited number of projects (75) but

with a large amount of funding as compared to other categories of intervention

Infrastructure investments can be further classified in three sub-categories

Building of new infrastructure These were the largest investments and

concerned the building of new cultural or sport and leisure facilities The most

relevant investment supported by the ERDF in the 2007-2013 period was the

Chauvet cave project that was addressed by a specific sub-measure that co-

financed both the infrastructure (7 projects with a total ERDF contribution of

nearly EUR 97 million) and a number of complementary projects to upgrade

the tourist offer in the area of the cave (10 projects with a total ERDF

contribution of nearly EUR 29 million) In addition to this large scale

investment other support to new infrastructure were set to promote fluvial

tourism by developing new port facilities or recreational areas along the Rhocircne

river For instance two projects for a total ERDF contribution of EUR 679753

supported the development of a fluvial port in the municipality of Virignin

Rehabilitation of existing sites This sub-category includes different types of

interventions that include the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites (eg

rehabilitation of the Rochemaure bridge on the Rhocircne river ERDF contribution

of EUR 13 million ) or the upgrading of sport and leisure facilities (eg the

development of bathing sites in Ardeche ERDF contribution of EUR 363110)

Improved accessibility of tourist sites This is a rather residual sub-category An

example of these projects is the rehabilitation of a hiking path to make it

accessible to disabled people (Valorisation du site de la Tour dAlbon et boucles

de randonneacutee accessibles agrave tous rendre accessible aux personnes handicapeacutees

le lac des sapins EUR 63725 of ERDF financing) As a matter of fact

accessibility was also integrated in other infrastructure projects and there are

several examples that can be mentioned For instance for the requalification of

the white water sport center in Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf specific facilities were

developed to allow disabled people to practice white water sports Similarly the

requalification of the trail in the National Nature Reserve of Marais Lavours was

also done in order to ensure accessibility

Territorial marketing activities were the second most important categories of

intervention for the tourist sector These categories of intervention can be grouped in

different actions

Qualiteacute Tourism A number of projects were set to assist tourist enterprises to

get the national certification ldquoQualiteacute Tourismerdquo (total of EUR 463000 of ERDF

contributions) Eight local chambers of commerce were involved providing

assistance at different level (eg diagnosis development of improvement

plans coaching training exchange of experiences between professionals) At

the end of 2013 200 tourist enterprises were reported to have been certified

(Rhocircne-Alpes CCI web site) However the project was reported to have a lower

target than expected in terms of enterprises involved This was due to a

perceived lower importance of the national policy concerning the introduction of

this quality standard and to the too many requirements that proved to be

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

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doi 102776457602

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 34: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 36

challenging for small independent and family run hotels in rural areas

Promotion of ICT use Other territorial marketing projects were grouped around

the ICT theme (sub-measure 91 use of ICTs for information gathering

reservation services and promotion of the tourist offer) These initiatives relied

on the use of ICTs to better structure and advertise the regional tourist and

cultural offer They supported a limited number of projects (15) with a total

ERDF contribution of approximately EUR 505000 and an average ERDF

contribution of about EUR 33000 These included 4 interventions for setting up

web sites for tourist information and 3 projects to develop geo-located tourism

services that applied more modern ways of communicating and advertising the

tourist offer This limited support to ICT use in the tourism sector is somehow

in contrast with the emphasis attached to this theme in the ERDF OP

Local tourism development plans Other projects followed local specific needs

related to the advertisement of cultural or tourist sites or assisted local public

authorities in better structuring the tourist offer This is the sub-category that

received the largest amount of ERDF financing as it includes a large array of

interventions A relevant example is the establishment of a showcase facility for

Ain department within the Ornithological Park of Dombes that is included in the

mini case studies that complement this report Other type of projects

concerned the establishment of new tourist route (eg Creacuteer une route

touristique des vins du Beaujolais) or new itineraries within the regional parks

Within the measure concerning the promotion of tourism along the Rhocircne river

territorial marketing activities were a residual category and were all linked to

the via Rhona cycling path

In the culture sector the largest number of projects concerned support to cultural

associations for the delivery of cultural products A general feature of these projects

was that of being accessible to the largest possible public as no fees were charged

This category of interventions can be grouped in different actions

Support to performing art associations This is the most relevant category and

includes 32 projects and a total ERDF contribution of nearly 17 million euros

The average ERDF contribution for each intervention amounted to nearly

54000 euros Support was delivered to cultural associations that organized

shows along the Rhocircne river linked to the cultural and historical heritage of the

river As an example the Woodstower association received funding for four

consequtive years for putting in place a show (une dimanche agrave bord de lrsquoeau)

that proposed street art performances based on a popular local ball

Support for preparation of documentary material concerning the history of the

Rhocircne river This action covers different outputs such as books DVDs or

animated documentaries For instance the association ldquoLes films pour demainrdquo

prepared a short film of 15 minutes and a documentary film 57 min as a

memorial project on the history of the Rhocircne river told by its inhabitants

(26100 euros of ERDF support) The association Panoramistes prepared a

photographic book that describes the Rhocircne river from the Alpes to the

Mediterannean delta (30600 euros of ERDF support)

Support for exibitions or other educational events These interventions

amounted to 13 projects that were carried out by the cultural association

Maison du Rhocircne that had the mission to raise awarness about the Rhocircne river

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 35: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 37

cultural and natural heritage amongt its inabitants They either consisted in

permanent exibitions or theme-specific workshops having the Rhocircne river as a

common background theme

Studies concerning the tourist and culture sectors were also supported as a residual

category (16 of the total ERDF allocations) These interventions were often

instrumental to support other projects as in the case of feasibility studies or were

used to support diagnostic studies that take stock of the existing cultural heritage of a

specific area For instance support was provided in 2011 and 2012 to develop a

database of the Rhocircne river heritage

No specific problems were reported in terms of achieving the expected outputs for all

the concerned measures as close follow up activities were put in place to assist

beneficiaries in achieving the planned targets For instance only 2 projects were

cancelled for the measures concerning the Rhocircne river

With respect to the sustainability criteria the interventions supported can be classified

in three different categories

Projects for which sustainability is ensured by continuous public financing This is the

case of interventions targeting the tourist sector that had a public institution as

beneficiary organization and were framed within or anchored to regional or national

tourist strategies As an example in the case of projects implementing national quality

systems for hotels and restaurants (Qualiteacute-Tourismetrade and Tourisme et Handicap)

assistance will be further delivered within the framework of national or regional

programmes Maintenance of the infrastructure investments will also have to be

secured through public funding

Projects whose sustainability is uncertain This is the case of projects targeting the

culture sector as public funding for cultural initiatives is set to decline in the coming

years Participation in EU-funded programmes helped small cultural associations to set

up a better organizational structure and to elaborate better business plans that are

building block for further progress However financial sustainability remains uncertain

There was only one reported case of a cultural project (Woodstower) that was able to

secure future financial support from Electriciteacute de France (EdF)

Unsustainable projects This is the case of the assistance provided to Maison du fleuve

Rhocircne (21 projects for a total of 460217 euro of ERDF support) a cultural

association that created more than twenty years ago the idea of a regional cultural

identity based upon the cultural and historical heritage of the Rhocircne river The

association was subject to a liquidation procedure in 2014 as it was not able to

achieve a financial equilibrium (Communiqueacute DRAC Rhocircne-Alpes January 2014) There

was also another reported case in which the intervention was detrimental to the

recipient association as the business plan developed overestimated the actual number

of product sold in the market

No cultural and tourist projects supported during the 2007-2020 were reported to be

the target of future assistance under the new funding period 2014-2020 as culture

and tourism are not any more priority sectors Tourism and culture wonrsquot be

addressed by specific measures but tourist enterprises will be able to receive support

through other measures that target innovation and energy efficiency (Reacutegion Rhocircne-

Alpes 2014) A tourism component will however be included in the 2014-2020

interregional programme for the Rhocircne and Saocircne rivers It will be targeted to

develop tourism along the riversrsquo valleys by better developing the offer of slow travel

modalities such as bicycle tourist (eg ViaRhona) and fluvial tourism Actually the

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 36: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 38

focus on the ViaRhona is the only element of continuity between the two funding

periods Development of cultural and natural heritage will only be addressed within the

framework of the Alcotra and Espace Alpine cross-border programmes

32 Results achieved

The monitoring system in place failed to provide adequate indicators to assess

development projectsrsquo outcomes for the measures addressing the tourism and culture

sectors The original plan to track changes in site attendance was not systematically

implemented as it could not be consistently applied to all categories of interventions

supported by the ERDF

Direct employment creation is the only quantitative indicator of regional economic

impact that was monitored for all measures supported by the 2007-2013 OP This

indicator refers to jobs that were created within the beneficiary organization and does

not account for the possible indirect jobs that were created within the ultimate

beneficiaries of the interventions (eg the accommodation structures that received

assistance under the quality tourism scheme) The indicator has thus some

weaknesses Onone hand it overestimates contribution to longmedium-term

employment as some projects only create temporary jobs that are limited the

implementation of the project On the other hand it fails to consider the possible

employment impacts on the enterprises assisted by a public intermediary

Overall most jobs were created through the Axes I and II accounting for 69 of the

employment envisaged by the 2007-2013 OP This is not surprising as these axes

include mostly interventions which target innovative enterprises and promote

economic activities As for the measures supporting tourism and culture the state of

achievement of this indicator is summarized in the Table below The number of jobs

created through the measure ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the

Rhocircne riverrdquo is impressively high However it remains an open issue whether these

jobs are sustainable in the future as most jobs are likely to have been created for

completing projects For the two measures targeting the tourist sectors the number of

direct jobs created was below the expected targets This is due to the fact that these

interventions targeted the public or semi-public sector and were mostly carried out

with the existing staff

Table 34 Number of expected and created jobs

Type of measure No of jobs (expected)

No of jobs (actual)

9 ldquoDevelop tourism by developing tourism assets innovation and sustainable developmentrdquo

106 55

17 ldquoPromoting the cultural heritage and identity of the Rhocircne riverrdquo 274 272

20 ldquoEnsure the development of a quality tourism along the river Rhocircne and its banksrdquo

36 6

Source Managing Authority

Without result indicators most outcomes of the target measures could only be

assessed through a qualitative analysis that integrates the views of beneficiaries and

stakeholders The following benefits were reported

Improved territorial cohesion Interventions were planned in a way to target emerging

tourist destinations rather than improving the competitiveness of already developed

tourist areas For instance by promoting local tourism along the Rhocircne river two

objectives were achieved On one hand tourist facilities (eg the sport and leisure

center at Saint Pierre en Boef) were established in an area that lacked of tourist

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

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bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 37: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 39

attractions On the other hand the development of local tourism allowed low income

groups to benefit from affordable tourist experiences Similarly the interventions in

the culture sector mostly pursued social purposes such as supporting local cultural

associations and granting access to cultural events and products to a large public (eg

the Woostower festival) When relevant projects also included measures for

accessible tourism As an example the cultural association Turbine received funding for

building an elevator that will make its facilities accessible to disabled persons

Increased perception of tourism as income generating activities Interventions helped

local communities with weak understating of tourism sector development practices to

think about how to use tourism for local development as an alternative to declining

agricultural or industrial activities For instance in the case of the project that

supported the development of tourism in the department of Ain (mini-case study) it

clearly appeared that the department had never made an inventory of its natural and

cultural assets for the purpose of attracting more tourists and better structuring of its

tourist offer

Increased used of ICTs in the tourist sector The use of ICTs in emerging tourist

destinations was reported to be underdeveloped The approach followed by the

measure targeting tourism development was to support a limited number of pilot

projects (15 projects) that show the potential of using ICT to support tourist

promotion or improve the attractiveness of a site (eg facilitating access to on-line

information and reservation in Ain department creation of ten virtual visits of

vucanosrsquo sources in Ardeche) However projects were reported to follow an

experimental approach that does not integrate with marketing and commercial

strategies In this area interventions were limited to establish instruments that

improve visibility or usability of sites but were not able to follow the project into a

sort of commercialization phase

Improved capacity of cultural associations in project design and management

Interventions were reported to have helped beneficiaries to improve their fund-rising

capacity and develop more sustainable business plans This resulted in a strengthened

organizational structure that often includes a person dealing with administrative and

accounting issues However involvement of the private sector in sponsoring cultural

activities remained low and was not improved by the 2007-2013 OP

Improved capacity to integrate tourist projects within the public system Areas with an

underdeveloped tourist potential lacked projects that integrate the existing and

fragmented tourist offer Interventions targeting the tourist sectors prioritized projects

that have a systemic impact and involved multiple public institutions The most

relevant example from the 2007-2013 programming period is provided by the project

of the replica of the Chauvet Cave which was regarded as a high national and regional

priority The project was designed to integrate the construction of a flagship tourist

cultural attraction with measures that were set to diversify and expand the local

tourist sector Recently opened the cave has already attracted an impressive number

of visitors although data on wider economic outcomes are not yet available On a

smaller scale the two projects selected as mini-case studies also provide an example

of improved integration of tourist assets

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

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from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

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bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 38: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 41

4 Conclusions and lessons learnt

The following conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented in the case

study

The ERDF regional strategy on tourism is assessed as relevant

whereas the ERDF regional strategy on culture is assessed as partly

relevant The inclusion of measures within the OP 2007-2013 that support

tourism in areas that do not have flagship tourist attractions and that can make

better use of their natural and cultural heritage sites was opportune Tourism

was conceived as an instrument to diversify the local economies and create

new job opportunities The ERDF measures for the tourist sector were aligned

with the regional strategy for tourism development (SRDTLRA) and set to

target areas that were not receiving support from other EU-funded programs

(eg POMA POMAC) All interventions implemented along the Rhocircne river area

were anchored to the interregional Rhocircne river plan In this context the EU

interventions provided the additional financing that could not be identified

within domestic public funds Interventions in the field of culture had a limited

geographical scope and theme which reduced the range of possible actions and

also resulted in weak integration between the two sectors of tourism and

culture There were little linkages between the ERDF measure that support

culture and the regional strategic priorities for the sector (eg use of ICTs in

cultural products and services)

Efficiency in implementing the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and

culture is assessed as satisfactory Programming targets were successfully

achieved well ahead the end of the programming period whereas fund

absorption was also good for all the three concerned measures These results

were achieved thanks to a combination of a strong demand for support from

cultural and tourist operators a good project design capacity from local public

bodies and continuous follow up actions from the responsible services of each

measure As compared to the previous programming period a stronger

participation from local authorities in elaborating project proposals was

reported and deemed to deliver projects that were better aligned to local

needs

The effectiveness of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism and culture

is assessed as satisfactory Overall the interventions financed responded to

the objectives set in the strategy In particular for the tourist sector

interventions were geographically focused on areas with an underdeveloped

tourist potential such as the Rhocircne river and addressed local tourism (with

the exception of the Chauvet cave project) The mix of hard and soft measures

allowed to create new cultural or tourist facilities or to upgrade the existing

ones while local capacities in planning and promoting tourism were also

strengthened Interventions in the cultural sector were set to create a regional

identity around the historical and cultural heritage of the Rhocircne river through

the delivery of a mix of cultural products although the geographical

distribution of intervention was too unbalanced

Evaluation of regional development outcomes is limited and based on

qualitative information In the absence of adequate indicators achievement

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 39: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 42

of results of the three concerned measures cannot be properly assessed The

MA struggled between the objective of keeping a limited number of result

indicators and identifying synthesis indicators that would have summarized the

result of measures The indicator that was originally identified (ie change in

the number of people that visit a site) was later found out to be of little use

due to the large variety of projects supported A more flexible system wih

indicators specific to each category of interventions could have been

developed Estimates on the impact on direct employment creation have many

shortcomings

Whereas the sustainability of the ERDF regional strategy on tourism is

assessed as likely those on culture is uncertain Interventions targeting

the tourist sector benefited public institutions and were anchored to local or

regional strategies Therefore sustainability is ensured within continuous

financing from the public sector whereas projectsrsquo operations are mostly taken

care by the staff of the recipient public administration In some cases these

projects were also linked to national or regional tourist programmes thus

providing a further guarantee for projectsrsquo continuity Differently culture

projects targeted cultural associations that are more exposed to funding

uncertainty given the declining trend of public support for culture and the

difficulty in putting in place financially sustainable initiatives or to engage

private sponsors

The following lessons can be learnt

ERDF support was key to support interventions that were mostly driven

by social and territorial cohesion purposes (eg accessible tourism

support for declining areas universal access to culture) that are a strong drive

for public intervention The ERDF measures supporting the tourist and culture

sectors allowed to provide financingto areas of the region that generally receive

little support from other ERDF measures This somehow helped to

counterbalance the natural geographical concentration of funding in already

highly developed and competitive areas (eg Lyon and Grenoble) It was also

reported that many projects would have never happened without a combination

of domestic and European funding given the lack of interest from the private

sector to support projects with uncertain returns

The ERDF strategy fails to integrate the two sectors of tourism and

culture Besides the Chauvet cave project which was a large cultural and

tourist project there was little integration of tourism and culture in the ERDF

strategy This was due to two factors First the tourist image of Rhocircne Alpes is

associated to adventure and sport whereas cultural assets are far less known

Secondly interventions in favor of the culture sector were too narrowly

designed around the theme of the Rhodanian identity

The use of call for projects stimulates participation from local actors

and local capacity for project design as compared to project identification

through regional or national programmes It was reported that call for projects

were also useful to have a better quality selection of projects and avoid an

excessive fragmentation of funding that often characterizes interventions in the

two sectors The most important weakness of this instrument of selection is

that it generally favors applicants with stronger capacity to design eligible

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 40: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 43

projects The geographical distribution of funding might have been partially

driven by the use of call for projects but it is also aligned with the objective of

the strategy

Sustainability of interventions heavily depends on the continuity of

support from public authorities The sustainability of projects depends on a

case by case basis upon the financial capacity of the responsible public

authorities to maintain or further develop the intervention This was due to the

type of interventions supported and to the social objectives pursued by the

strategy The fact that most projects as those promoting the use of ICT in the

tourist sector were conceived as pilot initiatives also made sustainability more

uncertain The use of public-private partnership was not explored with the only

notable exception of the Chauvet cave project

The use of ERDF funds to support small cultural associations is

contested The large majority of beneficiaries receiving support for delivering

cultural products or services were not for profit organizations Some were small

cultural associations that had never before tried to access to ERDF support

because they did not have the necessary administrative capacity in place

Some argued that participation in the ERDF programme helped these

associations strengthen their administrative structures and elaborate more

solid financial plans Others were less convinced about the appropriateness of

co-financed projects for supporting this category of beneficiary In these views

the complexity of ERDF administrative project procedure was seen as a

potentially destabilizing element for unprepared and less solid beneficiaries As

a matter of fact all supported interventions delivered the expected outputs and

only in one case the intervention proved to be detrimental to the recipient

organization However many follow up actions had to be put in place to ensure

projectsrsquo completion

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 41: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 45

References

ADE 2012 Study on the relevance and the effectiveness of ERDF and Cohesion

Fund support to Regions with Specific Geographical Features ndash Islands

Mountainous and Sparsely Populated areas Report prepared upon request of the

European Commission

Associations des Reacutegions de France 2012 Actes des Assises nationales Culture et

Reacutegions

Chambre Reacutegionale de Commerce et drsquoIndustrie Rhocircne-Alpes 2010 Key figures

for Rhocircne-Alpes Region 2009-2010 edition

Council of EuropeERICarts 2014 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in

Europe 15th edition ISSN 2222-7334

Insee 2014 En reacutesumeacute - Rhocircne-Alpes Mise agrave jour octobre 2014

Insee La Lettre 2011 Rhocircne-Alpes un secteur culturel deacuteveloppeacute Ndeg 155 -

novembre 2011

Insee Rhocircne-Alpes 2013 Tourisme Une bonne anneacutee gracircce agrave lhocirctellerie et agrave la

clientegravele eacutetrangegravere Le bilan eacuteconomique 2013 - Dossier ndeg 159

Insee Analyses Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 En Rhocircne-Alpes le tourisme deacutegage une

richesse importante Ndeg 02 - juillet 2014

Insee - La Lettre 2012 La culture en Rhocircne-Alpes 17 300 eacutetablissements et 45

000 actifs exerccedilant une profession culturelle Ndeg 172 - avril 2012

Imaginove 2013 Feuille de route strateacutegique 2013-2018 du Pocircle de compeacutetitiviteacute

Imaginove Contenus amp usages numeacuteriques

Le Figaro 2015 Preacutehistoire la guerre souterraine Friday 29 mai 2015

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les Indicateurs de lrsquoeacuteconomie du

Tourisme

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2013 Les sites touristiques de Rhocircne-Alpes

eacutetat des lieux Freacutequentation Partage drsquoexpeacuteriences grands projets

Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme 2015 Meacutemento du tourisme 2015 11e

eacutedition Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes Direction de lrsquoEconomie de la Recherche du Tourisme et des

Technologies Service du Tourisme Durable 2008 Scheacutema reacutegional de

deacuteveloppement du tourisme et des loisirs

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2011 La Strateacutegie Reacutegionale de Deacuteveloppement Economique

et drsquoInnovation 2011-2015

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel FEDERFSE RhocircnendashAlpes

2014- 2020

Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2014 Programme Opeacuterationnel Interreacutegional FEDER Rhocircne-

Saocircne 2014-2020

Ernest amp Young 2010 Evaluation agrave mi-parcours du PO FEDER 2007-2013 Rhocircne-

Alpes

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Programme

Operationnel Fonds Europeen de Developpement Regional (Feder) Rhocircne-Alpes

2007-2013

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2012 Avis de lrsquoautoriteacute environnementale

sur la modification du programme compeacutetitiviteacute et emploie Rhocircne-Alpes 2007ndash

2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 42: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 46

Prefeacutecture de la Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes et Reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 Document de

mise en œuvre (Domo) Rhocircne-Alpes 2007 ndash 2013

Serge Maury Philippe Bertrand 2013 La crise eacuteconomique creuse les eacutecarts de

niveaux de vie en Rhocircne-Alpes Insee Rhocircne-Alpes La Lettre Analyses Ndeg 197

SGAR Mission Europe 2012 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2012 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

SGAR Mission Europe 2013 Rapport annuel drsquoexecution 2013 PO FEDER Rhocircne-

Alpes 2007-2013

Prefecture Rhocircne-Alpes Region Rhocircne-Alpes Region Languedoc Roussillion

region Provence Alpes Cocircte drsquoAzur Region Bourgogne Region France Comteacute

2007 Contrat de Projets Interreacutegional Plan Rhocircne 2007-2013

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 43: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 47

Annex 1 List of people to interview during the week 25-30 May

Table A11 List of people interviewed Name Organization Role Contacts

Anne Rizand Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Chargeacute de la Mission Europe

annerizandRhocircne-alpesprefgouvfr 0472616582

Guiol-Bodin Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes SGAR

Responsable eacutevaluation 0472616596

Ceacuteline Issard-Guillot

Preacutefecture Rhocircne-Alpes DIRECCTE (direction reacutegionale des entreprises de la concurrence de la consommation de leacuteconomie et de lemploi)

Chargeacutee daffaires

celineissard-guillotdirecctegouvfr 0472682927

Aureacutelie Bougel Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes Direction des programmes europeacuteens

Responsable du service programmation et pilotage PO FEDERFSE

abougelRhocircnealpesfr 0426734039 0678575463

Agnegraves Hollande

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Chargeacutee de mission Fleuve Rhocircne POP FEDER

ahollandeRhocircnealpesfr 0426735881

Christain Biral Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

cbiralRhocircnealpesfr 0426734417

Sandra Mazeacute Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacute de mission eacutevaluation

smazelRhocircnealpesfr 0426735045

Alexandra David

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Instructeur FEDER

adavidRhocircnealpesfr 04 26 73 61 39

Michegravele Billou-Ferry

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes - Uniteacute Fleuve Rhocircne Direction des Politiques Territoriales (DPT)

Reacuteferent Instruction FEDER-FSE

MBILLOU-FERRYRhocircnealpesfr 0426735500

Christelle

Lepoutre

Observatoire du

Tourisme Rhocircne-Alpes

Chargeacutee dEtudes ChristelleLepoutreRhocircnealpes-tourismecom 04 26 73 31 81

Anne RUSILLON amp Raphael Perchoux

CCI Haute Savoie

Chargeacutee de Projet Deacuteveloppement Commercial Chargeacute de Projet Europe

arusillonhaute-savoieccifr 04 50 33 72 65

Coralie CATRAIN

Conseil Reacutegional Rhocircne-Alpes-(DTMP)

Responsable de Service Service Tourisme Durable Direction Tourisme Montagne et Parcs

04 26 73 44 22 ccatrainRhocircnealpesfr

Yasmina Gentil CCI nord Isere Responsable Tourisme 04 74 31 44 07

ygentilnord-isereccifr

Karl Joly Aintourisme Directeur 04 74 32 31 30

kjolyaintourismecom

David Barranco Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Directeur Communauteacute de Communes du Pilat Rhodanien

0033 474875371 dbarrancopilatrhodanienfr

Magali Cranga Community of communes Pilat Rhodanien

Responsible tourisme et loisirs

mcrangapilatrhodanienfr 0776021453

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 44: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 48

Annex 2 Data on the regional socio-economic context

Table A21 A general overview of the social and economic conditions of the

region

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or

pp)

Total Population (million) 61 64 54 636 656 30 4984 5072 18

- male (million) 30 31 56 308 317 31 2430 2476 19

- female (million) 31 33 53 328 338 30 2554 2596 16

Population Education level ( of tertiary educacated Level 5-6) 281 343 62 pp 266 321 55 pp 235 285 50 pp

GDP per inhabitant (PPS Index Number EU=100) 109 109 00 pp 108 109 10 pp 100 100 00 pp

Total Employment rate (15-64) () 658 665 07 pp 638 636 -02 pp 652 64 -12 pp

Male Employment rate (15-64) () 717 708 -09 pp 687 674 -13 pp 723 693 -30 pp

Female Employment rate (15-64) () 600 624 24 pp 590 599 09 pp 581 587 06 pp

Number of Employed (15-64) (million) 26 27 36 26 26 04 2169 2114 -26

Number of Male Employed (15-64) (million) 14 14 11 137 136 -12 1200 1141 -49

Number of Female Employed (15-64) (million) 12 13 64 122 125 22 969 973 04

Total Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 66 84 18 pp 84 103 19 pp 72 108 36 pp

Male Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 58 84 26 pp 78 104 26 pp 66 108 42 pp

Female Unemployment rate (15 and over) () 75 83 08 pp 9 102 12 pp 79 109 30 pp

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion () na na na 190 181 -09 pp 244 245 01 pp

NEET rate 15-24 () 92 82 -10 pp 103 112 09 pp 109 130 21 pp

- male () 88 73 -15 pp 96 109 13 pp 98 128 30 pp

- female () 96 91 -05 pp 110 114 04 pp 122 132 10 pp

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics) 2011 instead of 2013 Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 45: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 49

Annex 3 Cultural and natural assets of the Rhocircne-Alpes region

UNESCO sites

Historic centre of Lyon (1998)

Decorated Cave of Chauvet Pont drsquoArc Ardegraveche (2014)

Source httpenwikipediaorgwikiList_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_France

Towns and Lands of Art and History (lsquoVilles et Pays dArt et dHistoirersquo according to a

classification developed by the French Ministry of Culture)

1 Aix-les-Bains

2 Albertville

3 Chambeacutery

4 Pays du Forez

5 Pays des Hautes Valleacutees de Savoie

6 Saint-Etienne

7 Pays de Saocircne-Valleacutee

8 Pays de la Valleacutee drsquoAbondance

9 Valence

10 Vienne

11 Pays du Vivarais meacuteridional

12 Annecy (agglomerate)

13 Pays Voironnais (ex- Pays des Trois Vals ndash Lac de Paladru) (agglomerate)

Source httpwwwvpahculturefractualitespdfVpah_liste_06_06_2014pdf

National natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc national de la Vanoise (N01)

Parc national des Ceacutevennes (N04 shared with Languedoc-Roussillon)

Parc national des Eacutecrins (N05 shared with Provence-Alpes-Cote drsquoAzur)

Regional natural parks (classification Ndeg)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Vercors (R08)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Pilat (R13)

Parc naturel reacutegional de la Chartreuse (R28)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Massif des Bauges (R31)

Parc naturel reacutegional des Monts dArdegraveche (R40)

Parc naturel reacutegional Livradois-Forez (R22 shared with Auvergne)

Parc naturel reacutegional du Haut-Jura (R24 shared with Franche Comteacute)

Largest ski resort areas (some shared with other regions)

Chamonix

LrsquoAlpe-dHuez

Les Deux-Alpes

Les Arcs

Macot-la-Plagne

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 46: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 50

Peisey-Vallandry

Le Grand-Bornand

Val dIsere

Valmeinier

Val Thorens

Most popular regional sites by number of visitors

Name (Department location) Number of visitors

lsquoAiguille du Midirsquo cableway (ski area of Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

811234

Country area of lsquoVizillersquo (Vizille Isegravere) 719092

lsquoMontenvers Mer de Glacersquo railway ndash (glacier in Chamonix Haute-Savoie)

693390

lsquoBreacuteventrsquo cableway (Chamonix Haute-Savoie) 454713

lsquoBasilique of Arsrsquo (Ars-sur-Formans Ain) 432481 Source Departmental tourism economic research institute of Rhocircne-Alpes ORTMITRA tourist attractions with over 10000 visitors 2013 in laquoKey figures for Rhocircne-Alpes Regionraquo Chambre de commerce et drsquoindustrie de reacutegion Rhocircne-Alpes (accessible online at httpwwwRhocircne-alpesccifreconomiechiffres2015cc-RA-GB-2014-2015pdf)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 47: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 51

Annex 4 Site of cultural interest in Rhocircne-Alpes

Source Source Observatoire Reacutegional du Tourisme

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

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-02-1

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gu

e n

um

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r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
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Page 48: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 52

Annex 5 Key data about the tourism and culture sectors Table A51A A general overview of the tourism sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of tourism in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 27 26 -01 pp 32 32 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourism () 29 34 05 pp 34 37 03 pp 42 45 03 pp

Workers employed in the sector of tourisme (number) 73263 89694 224 869556 950803 93 9374510 9699973 35

Business Local Units in tourism (Incidence on the total local Units) () 106 104 -02 pp 98 95 -03 pp 85 84 -01 pp

Business Local Units in tourism (Number) 32340 37031 145 298765 338886 134 1896297 1889562 -04

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 111 161 448 1270 1511 190 7513 8769 167

Total arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments inhabitants per 1000 inhabitants 1828 2510 373 1996 2305 155 1507 1729 147

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 83 120 449 866 1058 222 4936 5536 122

Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 28 40 444 404 453 121 2577 3232 254

Share of non-resident arrivals in tourist accommodations () 252 252 -01 pp 318 300 -18 pp 343 369 26 pp

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (total) (million) 257 488 902 3020 4036 337 23520 26415 123

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per 1000 inhabitants 4232 7637 805 4744 6153 297 4707 5208 106

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (residents) (million) 175 343 954 1934 2723 408 13442 14499 79

Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments (non-residents) (million) 81 145 789 1086 1313 209 10078 11921 183

Share of non-residents nights spent in tourist accommodations () 316 298 -19 pp 360 325 -34 pp 428 451 23 pp

Total nights spent by residents + non residents (total) per km2 587 1117 903 477 638 338 517 580 122

Number of bed-places in hotels and similar establishments (million) 63 62 -09 57 50 -120 281 303 80

Net occupancy rate of bed places 444 444 00 pp 483 477 -06 pp 420 413 -07 pp

Number of establishments 3604 3631 07 28778 28246 -18 424661 561988 323

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of I- Accommodation and food service activities and N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation services and related activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 For tourism we have considered I- Accommodation and food service activities N79 - Travel agency tour operator reservation service and related activities 2012 instead of 2007Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate) Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

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Free publications

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via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

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Page 49: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013 focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF) ndash Work Package nine Culture and Tourism

October 2015 53

Table A51B A general overview of the culture sector

Rhocircne Alps France EU

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

2007 2013 ∆ 2007-2013 (

or pp) 2007 2013

∆ 2007-2013 ( or pp )

The share of culture in regional economy (measured in terms of GDP or added value) na na na 26 26 00 pp 26 26 00 pp

Workers employed in the sector of culture () 17 21 03 pp 21 23 02 pp 23 23 00 pp

Number of workers employed in the sector of culture 44441 55130 241 532333 599599 126 5038695 5029484 -02

Business Local Units in culture (Incidence on the total local units) () 26 23 -03 pp 25 24 -01 pp 20 20 -01 pp

Number of business Local Units in culture 7896 8288 50 77498 87653 131 453942 460542 15

For FR and EU-28 Gross value added (at basic prices) on the All NACE Activities of 59 mdash Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities 60 mdash Programming and broadcasting activities 90 ndash Creative arts and entertainment activities 91 ndash Libraries archives museum and other cultural activities 93 - Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities 2008 instead of 2007 2008 instead of 2007 2012 instead of 2013 for culture For culture we have considered J58 - Publishing activities J59 - Motion picture video and television programme production sound recording and music publishing activities J60 - Programming and broadcasting activities G476 - Retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores Note Variations (∆ 2007-2013) are expressed in percentage variation between two years () when figures are expressed in values (as for total population) and in pp (percentage points) when they are referred to indicators already expressed in (ie total employment rate)

Source Eurostat (Regional Statistics)

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

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14-E

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talo

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e n

um

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  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 50: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS

Free publications

bull one copy

via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

bull more than one copy or postersmaps

from the European Unionrsquos representations (httpeceuropaeurepresent_enhtm)

from the delegations in non-EU countries

(httpeeaseuropaeudelegationsindex_enhtm)

by contacting the Europe Direct service (httpeuropaeueuropedirectindex_enhtm)

or calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) () () The information given is free as are most calls (though some operators phone boxes or hotels may charge you)

Priced publications

bull via EU Bookshop (httpbookshopeuropaeu)

Priced subscriptions

bull via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union

(httppublicationseuropaeuothersagentsindex_enhtm)

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case
Page 51: Culture and Tourism Regional Case Study RHONE-ALPES (France ...

doi 102776457602

KN

-02-1

6-5

14-E

N-N

[Ca

talo

gu

e n

um

be

r]

  • Cover pages WP9 rhone alples
  • RHONE ALPS_case