House of France changed its name May 27, 2009

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From now on the development of tourism in France will be handled by Atout France Group, which was created as a result of a merger between Maison de la France (The National House of France) and ODIT France Agency. Up until now Maison de la France was taking care of promoting the French product on the international markets while ODIT France Agency specialized on the development of tourism related infrastructure (including skiing) both inside the country and internationally. As of now Atout France is the only state institution responsible for the development of tourism in the country. Its full name is Agency for the Development of Tourism in France. Herve Novelli, the minister of commerce and tourism, announced last week the creation of Atout France at an assembly of Maison de la France.

According to the minister, the agency will simultaneously be in charge of the development of tourism infrastructure as well as the promotion of France on international markets. In June the National Assembly (the parliament of the country) is expected to approve a legislative package which will regulate the development and modernization of tourism services. Among other things the document delegates new functions to the Agency, including the classification of accommodation areas, maintaining a registry of all tour operators, and some functions in the education sector. Thus, all the representative offices of the National Maison de la France in foreign countries will be called offices of Atout France from now on.