Examples of our day-to-day commitment to sustainability, quality, social responsibility
We make the visitor experience a priority in all our actions:
- Fostering meaningful connections with local experts on the island
- Meeting your needs through our various contact channels and a consistent visitor service model with a genuinely warm welcome to the island:
- In person at 10 tourist offices (one per village), open all year round, as well as our 3 bicycle-towed mobile information points in July and August
- From a distance by telephone, email, via Messenger or the online chat option on our website
- Providing you with personalised, up-to-date information. Our goal is to help you discover this magnificent region and its unique features, so that you can appreciate and help preserve it better. Heritage sites and history, local producers, wildlife and plants, water sports, wellness, greener modes of transport, local events and community organisations are at the heart of everything we do.
Zero-leaflet policy: since 2020, we have removed all leaflet display stands from our tourist offices. With information on more than 160 different sites and activities, this amounted to a total of 153,000 leaflets in 2019.
Brochures sent out on request: we have significantly reduced the print run of our paper publications and introduced a limit on the number of brochures we send out by post (a maximum of 5 brochures per household per year). Our brochures are still available, but only on request from our tourist information officers.
Digital Roadbook tool: we now offer digital, up-to-date recommendations through our Roadbook digital tool, which we co-developed at the end of 2019. Sent by SMS or email, the personalised information is updated automatically each time the visitor opens it.
CO2e reduction: the removal of leaflets and the introduction of the digital Roadbook have led to an estimated GHG saving of around 2.4 tonnes of CO2e per year. This is equivalent to a 11,000 km journey by car (source: QuantiGES analysis, Eco2 Initiative/Destination Île de Ré 2023, taking into account all types of impact, including the purchase of PCs, servers and the use of devices).
Display screens: posters have been replaced by screens displaying events, ticketing information, upcoming boat departures and weather.
QR codes: weather forecast information now includes a QR code for visitors to scan rather than the near-daily paper printouts previously used.
Destination magazine: a new Instants magazine was created in 2024 (with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Imprim’vert certification). We no longer include the date on the cover, making it a longer lasting, collectable publication, with no copies wasted. The magazine was awarded 2nd place in the ‘Best Information Magazine’ category at the 2024 ‘Trophées de la Communication’.
Environmental content: we work with organisations (League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), National Forests Office (ONF), eco-guards) when producing content for text for our publications, website and environmental awareness panels.
Accessible tourist offices: our 10 tourist offices have ‘Tourisme & Handicap’ certification. Our accessibility registers are available and our establishments are listed on the Accesslibre platform. We offer a full range of accessible services and advice: trained staff, an accessibility guide, hearing loops, accessible reception desks, a video presentation of the island in French Sign Language, an MP3 audio presentation of each village, village guides in Braille and large print, a tactile map of the island, a large-print shop catalogue, Easy Read (FALC) documents, step-free access routes and all the recommendations of our team.
Accessible walking routes: we have designed one accessible route for people with reduced mobility (PRM) in each village. Details are available on our website and in the Accessibility Guide, and we offer a guided tour in French Sign Language (LSF) with ‘Tourisme & Handicap’ certification.
Boutique areas: each tourist office has a boutique area with a selection of iconic local products, prioritising products made in France with a local connection, products made from local raw materials (France or Europe), products processed on Île de Ré (local products include salt, honey, salted caramel…), and products with eco-friendly certification.
Reclaimed-wood furniture: we work, for example, with the association ‘La Matière’, which has produced pieces of furniture using reclaimed wood: including two solid oak reception desks for the La Flotte tourist office, one reception desk in Sainte-Marie-de-Ré, an accessible display in reclaimed oak for Saint-Martin-de-Ré, and reclaimed wood shelving for the shop at Les Portes-en-Ré.
Social enterprise: we work with ‘La Verdinière’, a social enterprise providing employment through economic activity (a variety of jobs, installation work…), and with ‘IRIS’, a company specialising in employment for people with disabilities.
Waste management: all waste from our tourist offices is sorted, quantified and processed through a partnership with ‘ARC Environnement’.
Recycling: we use recycled paper and reuse paper for draft work.
Eco-actions charter: our teams are trained on environmental and social issues. We have an internal eco-friendly charter and car-sharing schemes. We carried out an environmental assessment in 2023 and have since implemented numerous initiatives in accordance with the action plan (with Betterfly Tourism and the Passeport Vert tool).
Awareness raising: we use all our communication channels to raise awareness among visitors and local service providers about protecting the island.
Information panels: we create and hire out information panels for local tourism businesses to raise awareness about the forest, dunes, foreshore, etc.
Equipment: we purchase reconditioned equipment, have repairs carried out by our local service provider and monitor repairability ratings.
Newsletters: we have reduced the number of general public newsletters (10 per year in 2024, 3 per year in 2025) and partner newsletters (4 per year in 2024, 3 per year in 2025).
Website: we are working towards European website accessibility certification for our website and are developing a charter on the use of AI.
Digitisation: we have digitised all meeting minutes, programmes, communication books, payslips and other documents. We make online payments for as many of our suppliers as possible.
Support for tourism businesses: we support local businesses as they develop their offering: classification of self-catering rental accommodation, a charter for responsible operators, recommended guesthouses, cycle-friendly accommodation and family-friendly accommodation.
Customer feedback: we collect and analyse reviews, comments and complaints from visitors and service providers. This information is highlighted in our monthly and annual reports, in our activity reports, and is shared at least once a year with local authorities and transport companies.
Training: Internally, we have a comprehensive onboarding process for new staff (welcome booklet, training, questionnaires), a workplace wellbeing barometer (QVCT), regular meetings and training sessions. We also sponsor a beehive.
Quality labels and certification schemes: we comply with the requirements of the ‘Destination d’Excellence’, ‘Famille Plus’ and ‘Accueil Vélo’ quality labels, the ‘Tourisme & Handicap’ certification scheme, and our Category I Tourist Office classification.
Monitoring and indicators: we monitor our actions through a wide range of quantitative and qualitative indicators.
