British holidaymakers planning a trip to the Dordogne this summer can expect a warm welcome from local residents and tourist industries, according to Sud Ouest.

The Dordogne region recorded a sharp fall in the number of British visitors in 2008, mainly due to a 30 per cent devaluation of the Pound against the Euro.

Visitor numbers have started to stabilise, but are still some way short of the pre-2008 levels. As a result, the local tourism industry is keen to pull out all the stops to bring ‘les anglais’ back to the region.

“They [British tourists] were some of our best customers,” Gè Kusters, owner of Le Paradis campsite in Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère, told Sud Ouest.

“Today there are fewer of them, and those that do come here spend very little on local services,” he added.

The Pound has seen a slight rise in value against the Euro in recent months, but Bouahlem Rekkas of the Sarlat Tourist Board knows that this alone will not be enough to draw British holidaymakers back to the region.

“We’re not going to rest on our laurels”, Mr Rekkas told Sud Ouest yesterday.

“These [British] customers love our region, that’s certainly a bonus. But if we don’t promote ourselves properly, they will start to forget about us”, he added.

All of this means that local hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions will be doing all they can this summer to promote the Dordogne and help make British tourists fall in love with the region all over again.

Expect warmer welcomes from your hosts, a larger number of English-speaking tour guides in town and an even friendlier service in local shops and restaurants.

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2. British people cook more than the French
3. France is the second most popular destination for British tourists
4. Low-cost airline to offer summer flights to Dordogne in 2011
5. Topless tourists told to cover up or pay up

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