The eighth edition of the largest tourism trade show in France, Rendez-Vous en France which took place in Southern France in Toulouse saw the participation of over 900 tour operators, 650 exhibitors representing hoteliers, DMCs, castles, tourist offices etc. The event enjoyed over 22,450 scheduled business appointments. A delegation of 18 Indian tourism professionals were hosted by the Tourism Development Agency French (Atout France) and the City of Toulouse and the Midi-Pyrénées region. The event was inaugurated by Sylvia Pinel, Tourism Minister, France. “I am very pleased to witness such an august gathering of tourism professionals from all over the world. This year tour operators and travel writers from over 59 countries have participated in Rendez-Vous en France. Moving forward, we want to attract a lot of inbound tourists into the Midi-Pyrénées region and our focus will be on emerging markets such as India and china.”
On the sidelines of the event, Catherine Oden, Director, Atout France –India, spoke to T3 on the future plans for the Indian market. “We want to aggressively promote France as a mono destination and we want to show Indian travellers that there is a lot more to France then the Eiffel Tower. We have recently launched a India centric campaign for 2013 – ‘Be There! Do That!’ which will encourage Indian visitors to try different experiences to reveal newer facets of France. We will also be offering new and renewed special travel offers for the Indian traveller,” she said. Commenting on the recently concluded Rendez-vous en France she said, “The aim behind organising our annual event is to create a common platform of mutual interest between our French partners and the travel agent fraternity. Our partners are keen to understand prevailing trends in the Indian market to suitably adapt their offers.”
Oden considers the best way to highlight the uniqueness of the destination is through the travel trade. “The Indian travel trade is undoubtedly an extremely important partner for us. We work very closely with travel agents and tour operators on communication campaigns promoting France through various media platforms. We are always ready to provide them with assistance for tailor making itineraries and providing information on the destination,” she said. Atout France has been conducting online training programmes to educate agents on pan India level.
Oden also highlighted that the average length of stay in France which was 2-3 nights covering only Paris and few other regions has now increased to a 7-9 nights stay. “Though Group travel is a popular choice among Indians, over the last few years, we have observed a change in trends. People now want to discover France as a stand- alone destination. FIT travel has increased considerably with people ready to explore newer destinations,” she added.
Commenting on France being a popular MICE destination, Oden said, “We have welcomed Indian MICE groups to France, and Paris is an important destination for such events. France’s geographical positioning and distinctive topography provide unusual venues for incentive and corporate movements. Our regions are well equipped with convention centres, hotel inventories and a few destinations can even organise Indian food caterers if requested well in advance. We are trying to encourage the corporate to discover our regions.”
