This week we head to Namur to meet Charlotte Déom, Alderwoman for tourism, economic and commercial development. A graduate in tourism and communication, she puts her professional experience to work for her local projects. The city, recently awarded the “Tourist Centre” label, can count on her, as she tirelessly promotes a “complete tourism experience” spanning shops, HoReCa as well as heritage and cultural sites.
Charlotte, it will soon be a year since you became alderwoman. How did this first year with the mayoral sash go?
Even though I have some understanding of how politics works, having worked at the Presidency for over 5 years, this first year was for me a great discovery of political management at local level. It was a truly exciting year during which I trained myself and was able to build my vision and launch several projects.
We know today how hard it is for city centres to fight commercial desertification. The city of Namur has equipped itself with a digital commercial mapping tool that gives an overview of the city and its neighbourhoods in terms of retail space. Can you tell us more about it?
This very valuable tool, called the “business directory”, lists all businesses in the area, across all sectors. It is updated twice a year to ensure reliable and complete information. I was fortunate to have this platform available from the very start of my term, which allowed me to build a database in order to communicate with traders. It's a bit of a foundation if you want to analyse, interact, propose actions and move forward on projects.
This site also has filters that allow selections based on various criteria, which is very useful for traders looking to set up in Namur.
I'm planning an action plan “Reducing the number of empty shop units” for 2026, and this online directory will allow us to identify and locate all available commercial spaces. I really hope to see their number decrease over the years!
Federal recognition of Namur as a “tourist centre” will allow traders to extend their opening hours and welcome customers on Sundays and public holidays too. You're convinced by this opportunity, but is that the case for all the city's traders? How do you support them through this transition?
It's indeed a topical issue, since I've invited city-centre traders to consider opening on the first Sunday of the month, starting in May 2026, at the beginning of the tourist season. Many other Belgian cities have already taken this step, and it seems fitting to do the same in Namur to boost commercial, economic and tourist appeal.
For this project to work, we need genuine mobilisation and good communication. The City of Namur is providing real support for this project. I believe you have to be ambitious and give yourself the means to match your ambitions, so the groundwork to convince traders continues; a verdict is expected around mid-December.
Among your responsibilities on the Council, you have tourism development but also the chairmanship of the Tourism Office. How do these two roles fit together?
Being chair of the Namur Tourism Office (OTN), in addition to my role as alderwoman, gives me an overall vision and essential levers for action. It allows me to steer, propose and implement innovative ideas to boost the tourism offering. Without this role, my scope for action would indeed be more limited.
We've heard you recently officiated your very first wedding, no doubt a moment full of joy, one of those lovely moments your role as alderwoman brings. Have you recovered from all the emotion?
Oh yes, my goodness, I think I was even more nervous than the couple! I really wanted to get it right, because I know how important that moment is for the couple. So I carefully prepared my speech and rehearsed it in advance. In the end, everything went very well and I was happy to share that moving moment.