Destination Biarritz

What Destination Biarritz does

Destination Biarritz (legal name: Office de Tourisme & des Congrès de Biarritz) is the official municipal tourism office and convention bureau for Biarritz, a coastal city in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of France's Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, located less than 25 kilometers from the Spanish border. The organization employs 59 staff and operates a hybrid service model spanning a physical Tourist Office at 1 Square d'Ixelles, a multilingual digital platform available in French, English, Spanish, German, and Basque, and a network of approximately 2,700 partner hotel rooms, local restaurants, DMCs, and event service providers. It serves two principal customer segments: leisure tourists seeking beach, surf, cultural, culinary, and wellness experiences, and professional event organizers arranging congresses, seminars, exhibitions, and incentive trips.

The organization's core technology stack centers on an eco-designed, continuously evolving website developed with IRIS Interactive under a model that delivers bi-annual updates extending platform lifespan and reducing redesign cycles. Notable digital products include the Kalilo mobile app providing real-time beach water quality and safety flag information, live webcams covering Grande Plage, Rocher de la Vierge, and Côte des Basques, an interactive tide calendar, an eco-mode feature using an algorithm from ADEME (France's ecological transition agency) to display real-time CO2 savings, and Mon Carnet de Voyage, a personalized favorites tool. Operational services include the Gare du Midi ticketing platform, the Official Biarritz Boutique for souvenirs and Basque artisan products, guided tours including the Petit Train de Biarritz, and a dedicated business tourism team supporting MICE clients across venues such as Casino Municipal, Gare du Midi, Halle d'Iraty, and Bellevue.

As a public tourism institution rather than a commercial enterprise, Destination Biarritz does not publicly disclose revenue and operates as a public service funded by municipal authorities. Revenue-adjacent streams include ticket sales for Gare du Midi performances, retail revenue from the Official Boutique, and partner commissions or referral fees from accommodation and activity bookings. Go-to-market motions span direct-to-consumer (physical office and self-serve web), sales-led (dedicated MICE team with Meeting & Leisure Planner brochure), and event-driven approaches across five-language marketing channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Vimeo), a newsletter, press/media relations, and seasonal content campaigns.

Name

Destination Biarritz

Legal name

Office de Tourisme & des Congrès de Biarritz

Website

https://destination-biarritz.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Destination Biarritz is the official municipal tourism office and convention bureau for Biarritz, France. The 59-employee public entity serves leisure visitors and corporate event organizers through a five-language digital platform, a physical visitor center, MICE/congress services, and a 2,700-room partner hotel network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Promotion Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591), Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Destination-Specific Custom Itinerary Specialists (THAKAOAN), Neighborhood & Local Life Tours (Communities & Hidden Gems) (THAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Tourism promotion services
• Convention bureau services
• Destination marketing organization
• MICE event services
• Visitor information services

Headquarters

HQ city

Biarritz

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tourism promotion services: As a public tourism office, Destination Biarritz operates as a municipal entity promoting Biarritz as a tourism and congress destination. Revenue generation is not publicly disclosed; the organization functions as a public service funded by local government.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Destination Biarritz operates the official municipal Tourist Office and Convention Bureau of Biarritz, providing visitor information, destination promotion, and business event organization services. Its core offerings include a multilingual destination information website with real-time monitoring tools (live webcams, tide calendar, Kalilo mobile app), event ticketing at Gare du Midi, a souvenir retail boutique, guided tours, dedicated MICE event planning services for conferences and congresses, and group travel services for organized visitors.

Product overview

Destination Biarritz operates the Biarritz Tourist Office & Convention Bureau, functioning as a multi-service destination marketing platform offering digital tourism services, business event organization, and visitor information tools. The core offering consists of an informational website with real-time monitoring services (webcams, tide calendar, Kalilo app), ticketing operations (Gare du Midi), retail services (Official Biarritz Boutique), and professional MICE services for congress and events. The platform targets both leisure tourists and business professionals, providing practical tools like a travel notebook (Mon Carnet de Voyage) for personal trip planning and comprehensive group services for organized travel. An eco-mode accessibility feature demonstrates environmental commitment. All services are accessible in five languages (French, English, Spanish, German, Basque).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kalilo App Mobile application available on App Store and Google Play providing real-time beach water quality, ocean conditions, beach surveillance schedules, and daily flag status for Biarritz beaches. Targeted at beachgoers and water sports enthusiasts visiting Biarritz.
• Live Webcams
• Tide Calendar
• Gare du Midi Ticket Office
• Official Biarritz Boutique
• Guided Tours
• Congress and Events Services
• Groups Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 684 g CO2 saved through eco-mode website feature
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• IRIS InteractivecoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital communication agency that developed the Destination Biarritz website following an eco-design approach. They implemented the continuous evolution concept allowing the platform to benefit from extended lifespan through bi-annual updates, reducing the need for complete redesigns.
• ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique)supportingTechnology or IntegrationFrench ecological transition agency whose CO2 impact algorithm is integrated into the website's eco-mode feature. The algorithm calculates and displays real-time energy savings and CO2 equivalents during user navigation.
• Atlantic TaxisminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal taxi service recommended for transportation from Biarritz airport to the city center and congress venues. Contact: +33 5 59 03 18 18
• Local event service providers networkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExtensive network of professional event service providers including event agencies, technical providers, caterers, transporters, accommodation providers, and tourism business actors. This local expertise supports organizers from concept to execution of events.
• DMC (Destination Management Companies)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReceptive agencies that specialize in organizing group travel programs, guided tours, and activities for visiting groups in Biarritz.
• Local hotels and accommodation providerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of 2,700 hotel rooms comprising 2-5 star hotels and residences that serve event attendees and leisure visitors. The organization facilitates connections between visitors and accommodation providers.
• Restaurants and culinary establishmentssupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner restaurants and dining establishments featured on the platform and recommended for group dining and visitor meals. Includes options for business dining and group reservations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Visit Brussels: Brussels' official tourism and convention bureau. Like Destination Biarritz, combines a leisure visitor-facing role with a dedicated convention bureau function, operates across multiple languages, and serves as the centralized information and ticketing platform for its destination.
• Visit Provence: Regional tourism board for Provence. Similar French regional DMO balancing leisure tourism, gastronomy, cultural heritage, and event organization, with multilingual content and a sustainability positioning strategy.
• Visit Paris: Official tourism office of Paris/Île-de-France. Closest direct peer — same municipal DMO model providing multilingual visitor information, leisure + business tourism services, event ticketing, and sustainable tourism positioning targeting a single French destination.
• Visit Côte d'Azur: French Riviera DMO covering the Nice/Cannes/Monaco corridor. Direct competitor for French coastal leisure tourism, with comparable MICE infrastructure (conventions, trade shows, congress venues) and a similar premium leisure + business-event dual model.
• Office de Tourisme de La Rochelle: Municipal tourism office of La Rochelle, a French Atlantic coastal destination. Comparable as a French coastal DMO with similar visitor services, beach/promenade positioning, eco-tourism initiatives, and multi-language tourist office operations.
• Destination Arcachon Bay: Tourism board for the Arcachon Bay region in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the same French region as Biarritz. Highly comparable regional DMO with overlapping French Atlantic coastal audience, beach-tourism product, and shared Aquitaine visitor catchment.

Emerging players

• Visit California: California's destination marketing organization. A larger-scale DMO with comparable functions (leisure + MICE, real-time digital tools, multilingual content, sustainability positioning) but operating at a state rather than city level, and pushing more advanced data and content marketing.
• Tourism New Zealand: National DMO that pioneered sustainability-led '100% Pure' positioning and immersive digital content. Comparable as a destination marketing organization with strong sustainability messaging, multi-language visitor platforms, and integrated business-events positioning.
• Destination Canada: Canadian national tourism agency. Comparable as a public destination marketing organization with emphasis on sustainable tourism, B2B event/congress sales, and multi-language digital content — a more advanced analog in terms of platform scope and professional event services.

Broad incumbents

• Atout France: France's national tourism development agency. Operates broadly across the entire French tourism ecosystem rather than a single destination; provides umbrella strategy, international marketing, and engineering support that individual DMOs like Destination Biarritz plug into.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DestinationBtz
• YouTubevimeo.com/user63145283
• Facebookfacebook.com/destination.biarritz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/destination-biarritz
• Instagraminstagram.com/destination_biarritz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Destination Biarritz