Tourism

The history of tourism in the Cévennes

One mustn’t confuse land of refuge and tourist destination – but the Cévennes have always had this dual reputation, combined with an ancestral sense of hospitality. As early as the 19th century, several illustrious intellectuals (Stevenson, Stendhal, etc.) created a rite-of-passage tourism here that was much marked by Protestantism. Then came the era of underground exploration with Edouard-Alfred Martel. In discovering such exceptional sites as Aven Armand swallow hole and Dargilan cave, he created French speleology. At the time, the area was associated with the grandiose landscapes of the gorges and acquired considerable tourist renown.

The origins of sustainable tourism

Local tourism was brought into the 20th century by the creation of the Club cévenol in 1894. Its visionary founder members already imagined a controlled tourism, at the service of the local population, which showed off the local economy and identity to their best advantage. A hundred years ahead of their time, they sketched out the basics of the very contemporary notion of sustainable tourism. Then, from the end of the 1960s onwards, green tourism was also born here in the Cévennes. This form of tourist practice has now been given a formal structure by the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas. By helping to draft it, the Cévennes National Park confirmed its position as an innovator in tourism.

The economic weight of tourism

Tourism is by far the foremost economic activity of the area. There are a thousand tourism-related businesses, which represent one in three salaried jobs. These participants in tourism work in accommodation, at sites, and as upland tour leaders and guides. Moreover, institutions (local authorities, tourist offices, consulates) contribute both to the expansion of tourism and to employment.