©Nohcab Recap of the Ambassadors' Evening 2026
The third edition of the Calais XXL Ambassadors evening was held at the Channel, Scène Nationale de Calais this Friday, February 6. The third edition means nearly 300 people gathered for the occasion! Growing success for this event, which is now well established in the ecosystem of tourism professionals in the destination.
The annual meeting of tourism professionals
The third Calais XXL tourist season is kicking off a little ahead of schedule! The annual attractiveness evening was held on Friday, February 6, 2026, to give stakeholders every opportunity to grasp the challenges and opportunities of a full season. Accommodation providers, restaurateurs, cultural organizations, leisure sites, tourist offices, institutions, event partners, and project leaders were all represented, reflecting the diversity and maturity of the local tourism ecosystem.
On the agenda: key figures from the past season, details of the actions of the Calais XXL Tourist Office and above all, the launch of Plan Large magazine #2, which condenses in 56 pages the essentials of the year ahead in the region!
©Timothé Lovergne 
©Nohcab 
©Timothé Lovergne An XXL year in every respect for 2025
European customer base is growing
Data from the Tourist Office Observatory for the 2025 season confirms the national anchoring of the destination, while highlighting a solid international openness.
Attendance is distributed between 68% French visitors and 32% foreign visitors, This represents a 2-point increase in foreign visitors, with Belgian, British, German, and Dutch visitors being the most numerous. This distribution demonstrates Calais XXL's ability to attract both local visitors and European tourists on stays or day trips.
Increased usage of facilities
The Observatory highlights sustained usage of key facilities in the region. City of Lace and Fashion, Belfry of the Town Hall, Museum of Fine Arts, The Dragon Company, the Memory Museum, natural sites and leisure facilities constitute solid pillars of the offering, contributing directly to longer stays and a more diverse audience. This visitor numbers are part of an overall growth trend, ranging from 4% to 26% increase depending on the facilities, compared to the 2025 season.
Nearly one million overnight stays generating over one million euros in tourist tax
One of the major lessons learned from the 2025 season lies in the evolution of tourist overnight stays, which demonstrates continuous post-Covid growth, culminating in 2025 at 956,753 overnight stays (recorded as of January 31, 2026), a level never before reached. This dynamic is directly reflected in tourist tax revenues, which are also reaching a historic record of €1,037,481.
These results reflect not only an increase in visitor numbers, but also an improvement in the quality of stays, with longer durations and a gradual upgrading of the offering.
©Nohcab An ambitious, multi-platform, and ultra-high-performing content policy
The 2025 season also confirms the growing strength of the destination's digital strategy. The portal calaisxxl.com recorded 250,000 visitors, a significant increase (+212% compared to the previous year). The Tourist Information System now includes 495 active records (+65%), enhancing the visibility of professionals and the clarity of the offer for visitors.
Social media is a major lever for building brand awareness, with 5,6 million cumulative views over the year (+267%), particularly driven by major celebrations such as the centenary of the City Hall and the Odyssey of the Varan de Voyage. This massive exhibition helps to firmly establish Calais XXL in the tourist imagination, far beyond the immediate area. Furthermore, 7,000 routes have been launched on Wivisites (+87%), Our app for discovering the territory confirms the public's appetite for guided tour experiences.
©Nohcab What's New in 2026
The presentation highlighted the wealth of promotional tools available to professionals: destination guides, maps, ticketing systems, web portals, and magazines. This comprehensive suite forms a common foundation, designed to facilitate the promotion and marketing of tourism offerings.
Plan Large #2: The Calais XXL Destination Magazine
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Plan Large Magazine #2 This marks the editorial launch of the 2026 season. Printed in 35,000 copies, this second issue adopts a skillfully balanced editorial line. towards nature, slowing down and wide open spaces in line with visitor expectations in a milder season.
Plan Large is not limited to inspirational support: it also serves as from the season's press kit, offering a clear, structured and embodied vision of the upcoming season. It constitutes a central tool for professionals, partners and influencers.
Discover the magazine
©Calais XXL Happy Fiu: the family label for XXS explorers of Calais XXL
Another major new development is the complete overhaul of the Happy Fiu initiative, conceived in 2019 as a collaborative document. The ambition is to make it the new graphic identity aimed at families, The language has been redesigned to fit into the Calais XXL strategy. With its dedicated and highly illustrated environment, this evolution aims to enhance the clarity of the family offering and better support professionals in promoting their products to this strategic audience.
A first game booklet is being created to launch the momentum of a content policy and a space dedicated to young audiences on the Calais XXL ecosystem.
©Calais XXL New online and offline group prospecting tools
New documentation dedicated to adult groups and school groups have been unveiled. Clearer, more structured and more focused “destination value”They constitute a concrete lever for outreach, trade shows and marketing to prescribers.
Discover and download the group offer
©Calais XXL And always
Our visitor-friendly editions are expanding!
The tourist guide The four-language edition, designed to exist permanently, remains valid in its entirety, but an enriched edition will follow as soon as stocks are exhausted.
The tourist map Available in two languages, this edition remains valid while supplies last before being replaced by the new print run, which features a massive update. A clearer map, enhanced information on mobility and parking, and above all, the highly requested Street Art pieces!
We recap
Stephane Ribeiro Da Ascencao
Marketing & Communications Director
+33 (0)6 42 92 42 35 — sribeiro@calaisxxl.com