Informe semanal noticias Francia realizado por la Oficina de Turismo de Tenerife en París
- Market trends/Destination news:
Facebook is launching into travel guides…papers in France!
While the guide is currently only available in Bordeaux and Lisbon, Mark Zuckerberg’s teams intend to take Internet users «to the city’s streets, its unusual places, its restaurants and bars, its must-see cultural sites”. Composed of 8 chapters, the booklet, which is also available for download or at the Bordeaux Tourist Office, offers a discovery around gastronomy, places to party or unusual, all written by famous Facebook groups. TourMag
Why is Private Sale now called Veepee?
Founder Jacques-Antoine Granjon says about the name change: «For Spanishs and Italians, pronouncing Vente Privée is not very complicated» to pronounce. There is no doubt that this evolution also reflects the company’s desire to internationalize in the years to come. Consequently, the six different subsidiaries will be grouped under the same heading and, above all, under the same name. Presse Citron
Top 20 travel sites: Booking and Oui.sncf are nip and tuck
In July 2018, Booking had won the first step of the podium, surpassing Oui.sncf for the very first time (see the graphic design). In November 2018, the two giants of the sector arrived at the elbow-to-elbow, with 11.45 million unique visitors each. The TripAdvisor review site remains on the third step of the podium, with 7.73 million unique visitors. Next come the seasonal rental specialist Airbnb, the airline Air France and the carpooling leader BlaBlaCar. First and only hotel group present, AccorHotels gained two places to land in seventh place. L’Echo Touristique
How can the travel agent be a real margin generator
Local travel agencies and networks have an important role to play if they take the time to get to know their customers and the business travel market. The added value they can offer is a powerful force that can easily save customers 10 to 20%. Some web platforms (comparators, service providers, OTA…) have facilitated direct booking. Thus, nearly 25% of air transport purchases, 35% of rail bookings and 40% of vehicle or hotel bookings are made directly on the suppliers’ websites. La Quotidienne
- Airline news:
Norwegian: 2019, the year of the final landing?
While the emblematic Norwegian airline specialising in long-haul low-cost routes is sinking deeper and deeper into financial difficulties, its survival now seems to be due to a possible takeover by the Lufthansa group. Despite breaking a new record in terms of passengers carried in 2018 (37.3 million, +13%), the heavy debts (3.5 billion euros at the end of 2018) aggravated by the rise in oil barrel prices are undermining them more and more. Announced a few weeks ago, a cost reduction plan of €200 million for 2019 provides, in addition to the resale of 5 Airbus A320s, for the closure of six bases and job cuts from next April. TourMag
Hop! becomes «Air France HOP»
After Joon, Benjamin Smith goes after Hop! The Air France-KLM group has officially announced its decision to change the name of its short-haul subsidiary and to integrate its operations under the Air France flag. «Air France announces that its commercial offer on short-haul routes made by the regional fleet of HOP ! a subsidiary of the group, will now be marketed under the name Air France HOP», explains the company on Friday 1 February 2019. TourMag
- Tour operator news:
Fram celebrates its 70th anniversary with about 50 clubs
The group, which is emblematic of the French market and always looking for profitability, is unveiling its summer production, which includes around ten new clubs. To achieve profitability, Fram has notably expanded its production of Framissima clubs with seven new products. Framissima signs her return to Turkey with the Crystal Flora Beach 4*, in the Antalya region, and settles in Madeira with the Savoy Caletha Beach 4*, on the south coast. 5 other Framissima have taken place in the new TO summer brochure. L’Echo Touristique
The Kuoni’s Cup 2019 will be held in Egypt
The 2019 edition of the Kuoni’s Cup honours Egypt with a sales challenge from 22 January to 20 April 2019.At the end of this challenge, the 22 best sellers will travel along the Nile and in Cairo from 11 to 16 June 2019. They will discover this destination with, on the program, events, fun activities, visits and gala evenings. Kuoni’s partners include: Egyptair, the Egyptian Tourist Office, AccorHotels, Mövenpick Aswan and Allianz Travel. Quotidien du Tourisme
Low cost and packages: a real competition for tour operators?
Users of low-cost airlines have noticed this in recent years: it is impossible to check in on a flight without being constantly asked to book a hotel night, a car rental, or even tickets for visits and attractions. For Serge Laurens, head of marketing for the TUI France group, «this is a new competition, which we are looking at very closely, especially at easyJet». «This has gradually become a competition, especially for tour operators selling air-only and flight+hotel, and especially on certain destinations that we have decided to stop doing,» adds Aurélien Aufort, Voyamar’s general manager. TourMag