After cancelling the 2020 and 2021 editions due to COVID, Atout France welcomed delegates from around the world last week at Rendez-vous en France, the international show to promote French tourism.
Nearly 1,500 tourism professionals gathered in Nantes, in the Pays de la Loire region, for this major global event. 668 French companies were on hand to present international tour operators with the best products France has to offer. While the vast majority of attendees are from Europe, Canada is part of the 20% of attendees from North and South America. The conference was co-sponsored by Air France, who were integral in providing affordable flights for attendees.
Caroline Leboucher, CEO of Atout France, led a press conference Wednesday morning which gave a very detailed overview of the country's plans to rebuild tourism after a devastating two years.
"The last two years have been hard on the tourism sector, and the current international situation is also worrisome," explained Leboucher. "In light of these difficulties, we are pleased to see that so many representatives of the global tourism sector are eager to discover France's tourism offer, which has required innovation and agility to reinvent itself and adapt to travellers' aspirations in 2022, particularly around sustainability. Rendez-vous en France once again provides a platform for French tourism suppliers to present their outstanding products for distribution to travellers from around the world."
France's plan for recovery was approved in November 2021 with a budget of nearly 2 million Euros. The plan has two main goals: to consolidate France as the world's leading tourist destination and to become known as a destination for sustainable tourism.
Reaching those goals will involve a lot in both tourism and general industries in France such as Tech. This year, France is reclassifying its accommodation, something that is done every five years. The new classifications focus on new ways of operating; the changes will reflect protocols put in place during COVID and include more digitalization on properties.
While a large portion of France's promotional targets are Europeans, Canada is still the number one international long-haul market and will see a heavier push to visit as well. Atout France's #EXPLOREFRANCE campaign is back and consists of 13 regional tourism organisations and several companies in the sector.
"We have a lot of work to do of course and need to make sure we have the right people in Canada to help us reach those objectives in the five years," says Melanie Paul-Hus, Director Atout France, Canada. "Our mission is really to spread the word and connect with agents. It's hard to sell the destination if you're not familiar with it, so we want to put out tools that can help people know it better.
There is a natural draw to France for Canadians, they like France, they want to go again. That's something that we want to support."
Getting there:
Currently, major airlines Air Canada, Air France and Air Transat fly direct to Paris from Canada, with Transat also flying direct to Nantes. The local regions are easily accessible by regional or high speed trains, TGV and SNCF, which TravelPulse Canada was able to experience first-hand by visiting the Le Mans and Angers areas on a pre-conference FAM.
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