Eddie Fillia, a man of convictions

Eddie Fillia joined the team at the Tourist Office and Convention Bureau in Nice 23 years ago. His creativity, passion and hard work have brought him step by step to his current role as Head of New Technologies at the Nice office. Eddie came to the tourist office as an account manager and started his IT career teaching himself in his spare time. Later on, he created a last-minute reservation system that is currently used in the city of Nice and has also been sold to the city of Brussels. Eddie Fillia is a pragmatic dreamer who sprays out the ideas and projects when walking through the narrow streets of the old town, who answers before you ask and who is able to discuss the essential questions of human existence in modern society from behind a gigantic mountain of whipped cream.

You are a director of new technologies. What does your work consist of? Do you work mainly on design or execution?

Unfortunately, mainly administration. I think all my colleagues probably have the same impression. All the administrative tasks take about fifty percent of my working time, then we have to manage urgent matters for the everyday running of the tourist office and only about twenty percent is left for the design of new projects. Moreover, design is only a small part of a long chain. The project simply cannot exist if it isn’t included in the strategy of a tourist office. Including a project in a strategy means finding a budget, which means convincing the relevant people. And as the circle grows wider, it becomes more and more difficult to explain the importance of new technologies and the impact they may have on our work if we follow the evolution or not.

In your opinion, what will that evolution be?

Ten years ago, the internet arrived and changed every sphere of our lives. Nowadays, a tourist is no longer dependent on the tourist office to get relevant information about the city. Internet, GPS, PDA, of course, tourists use all the means available to them to get the necessary information. Our brochures simply cannot make compete with the thousands of authentic testimonies given by those who have already have experience of the city in question. We have to look at the reality and ask ourselves what the role of a tourist office will be in a few years’ time. I am convinced that GPS and PDA for example have great potential. Imagine you are in a city, you have your itinerary and at the same time you can find information about the nearest hotels and their vacancies or about the monuments around you. The main task of tourist offices will consist in collecting, reorganizing, classifying and diffusing this information and we should be ready to accept this task and to rise the challenge, which is not often the case. In general, the IT develops much faster than we are able to follow.

You are predicting quite a black future for tourist offices …

Yes… for a tourist office with the current structure and objectives. That’s why it is necessary to re-think the whole idea of the tourist office. We should have a much more playful approach to visitors to the city, try to offer something more. Nowadays, the tourists come to our offices to get information about where to find the attractions of that particular place. The tourist office is an instrument, not the object of the attraction and we should change that. I imagine a tourist office being an attraction in itself – entertaining for the children and informative for the adults.

Can you give an example of this kind of project?

Can you see that hill over there? It’s called La colline du Château (Castle Hill). By the way, what makes this hill special, despite its name, is the absence of a castle. Anyway, at the top there is a water fall and I imagine a little train passing through the falling water. Of course, it will never happen, but still it is feasible in a film. Just fancy a 3D simulator where you can experience a real adventure in the destination that you are aiming to promote. I can see it already, it would start with skydiving, landing on a boat which will bring you to this hill, you catch the train and go through the water fall. This is the sort of attraction a tourist office should offer in the future. After the cinema session you would go to a shop, like at every attraction, where you could buy a whole range of books and souvenirs related to the destination. The assistants would be there to provide additional information to the tourists.

Aren’t you afraid that by providing a virtual reality, the tourist won’t be interested in the authentic one?

No, I am convinced that this would help to promote certain places. La colline du Château for instance is one of my favorite places in Nice. Yet it is not promoted as a touristic attraction and it is a pity. It’s a beautiful calm and peaceful place in the very centre of city. A place with great views on both sides of the city – the old town and the port and from the point of view of tourism we definitely don’t make the most of what this place can offer. And there is also the virtual reality that, I am sure, will incite tourists to come. You know, I am fascinated by the repetition phenomenon when choosing a holiday destination. There are people who refuse to change, who are afraid of the adventure of an unknown destination; all they want is security. Virtual visits of a city will be like an induction training, serving also to avoid the stress of the unknown.

Let’s look back over your life. How does an account manager become a Director of New Technologies?

I have to say that I have always been attracted to the domain of information technologies. I was a radio ham when I was 14, I have always enjoyed taking photos, shooting and cutting films. I like to be creative. So even if originally I was an account manager I have found my way to information technologies in my professional life. I taught myself everything by observation, in my free time, at work, I studied programming languages at night. And then, when I came to ECM and to the IT Working Group, it was something truly exceptional. At the time, Frank Magee was the chairperson of the working group. I didn’t understand a single word of what he was saying (laughing)… , but it was just great. I met people who worked on similar projects so, finally, I found people with whom I could share all my experience and knowledge. I must say that this was a real motivation for my work and I came away with even more interest in information technologies than before.

What is your personal approach to your work?

I am a man of convictions. Humanity, morality and human relationships will always take the first place. It is important to have convictions and to fight for them. And I do fight. I am convinced that we can disagree and yet listen to what the people say. I like to put my heart and soul to my work, to give it hundered percent, to create a vision and follow it. Because if you don’t know where you are going you will never arrive. And I think that this is also one of the crucial questions in our branch: Why do the tourists come to a city? What do they come for and what do they find in reality? Satisfying a tourist does not necessarily mean providing something exceptional, it simply means offering them what they expect. To sum up, my professional ideal and objective is to mix strategy, technology, humanity and culture. … and not let the blockheads win!

Your lofty ideals and your striking fight for them remind me of Don Quixote fighting against windmills.

No! Don Quixote was fighting against the windmills that didn’t exist. My mills do exist but one cannot see them! Well (laughing),… he was probably thinking the same.

Nice: a fabulous compromise

What is the secret of the touristic success of Nice? What is the unique thing that you can get in Nice and nowhere else? The answer may seem surprising: nothing. To find out why tourists have always come to Nice (and obviously have no intention of stopping), you have to turn that question around. What is missing in this city, what does it lack? You will get the very same answer: nothing. This time, however, it makes sense. Mountains, sea, entertainment, history, sun, cuisine, culture, airport, mild climate, train, modernity, the rush of the city and the calm of the countryside. The city of Nice offers all this mixed up in a colorful juicy cocktail that you sip in a funky bar staring at an infinite expanse of blue.

The best time to come to Nice is the end of September. The massive wave of tourists has already subsided and you can still benefit from the warm weather and lively city. Apart from the summer season and Christmas, there is another peak in February during the period of Carnival. During the spring a number of conferences assure a stable touristic flow. The majority of tourists being of Italian origin, the French must content themselves with the silver. The city of Nice has 4 full-time tourist information centres and one extra which is season-driven.

One special feature of the development of tourism in Nice is the quite remarkable influence of film tourism. Nice experienced the film industry boom in the 60’s. In that time, the Victorine film studios, nicknamed “The European Hollywood”, were constructed. After several rather calm years in this respect, the city has realized the importance of the film industry and has recently founded a film committee. Its aim is to help film producers arrange the logistical and administrative background for shooting a film in Nice and its surroundings, such as accommodation facilities or the permits required by the municipality or private owners.

The rising number of cars in the city has recently lead Nice to construct a tramway network. The next project concerning traffic -city bikes for rent- is to be introduced in February. However, Eddie is convinced that sea transport among the coastal cities and towns has great potential and should be developed in a more efficient way in the future.

The very best restaurant of traditional Nice food is called La Petite Maison and you will find it in Rue de l’Opéra (Opera Street). Unlike Castle Hill, there is an opera in Opera Street. However, La Petite Maison is really considered to be THE restaurant of Nice and, as such, it offers, of course, not only delicious traditional food but also prices to match. Eddie’s personal choice is the restaurant Le Safari situated in Cours Saleya (at the same square as the famous of flower market) and his favourite meal is Calamares aux artichauts (Calamari with artichokes). Eddie’s experience (as calamari is neither red meat nor fish) is that this meal is usually highly appreciated by both sexes.

If you like to taste local culinary specialties, you can also try Socca– a flat cake made of chickpea and olive oil. Wine lovers should probably taste Vin de Bellet, produced on the outskirts of Nice.

No matter what you are looking for, you can be sure to find it in Nice. Nice is like a pearl, says Eddie, shining and glittering. Yet its glow would be lost if its surroundings didn’t reflect this beauty. The city of Nice would never have its magic without the mountains, the sea, the coastline and, of course, all the charming places and towns in its vicinity that you can visit during your stay in Nice.