Located in the heart of the village of Coulon, a touristic commune in the Deux-Sèvres département, the House of the Marais Poitevin offers exhibitions and projections describing the history of the marsh of Poitou (Marais Poitevin), its development, and the importance of its ecosystems.

« The House of the Marais Poitevin obtained the Qualité Tourisme label in October 2015. Along with the Château of St. Mesmin, we were one of the first tourist attractions in the Deux-Sèvres département to be promoted under this label.

This reward came at the end of a five-year process during which we resolved to listen to our visitors by leaving customer questionnaires in addition to our visitors’ book. So far, we have collected more than 4,000 completed questionnaires, helping us to get to know our customers, their expectations, our strong points and the areas in which we can improve.

Thanks to these ongoing efforts to listen to our visitors and carry out improvements for their benefit, we succeeded in obtaining the Qualité Tourisme label.

The work doesn’t stop once you obtain the label: it is a big advantage naturally, but we must uphold our commitments to our customers and our brand image.

The most obvious impact of the Qualité Tourisme label is that it offers a precise and comprehensive framework under which to carry out monitoring and management on a day-to-day basis: as part of the quality process, every member of the team is galvanised around a common and unifying project. Consequently, the framework is not seen as a constraint but rather as a very positive objective for the benefit of our customers.

The second effect of the label is the recognition it affords. It serves as evidence for our partners that our structure is working within the rules of the profession despite limited resources: an association that receives less than 10% of funds through public aid can obtain a national label; in this regard, we would like to thank ADT79 for its technical assistance and ongoing encouragement.»