Informe semanal de noticias del mercado francés de la Oficina de Turismo de Tenerife en París
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The 7 events that will mark the year 2020
After a complicated 2019 for the profession, 2020 also promises to be a very busy year:
- Who will get their hands on the Jet tours brand?
- Will Marietton take over TUI France?
- Customers will pay 3 euros more for a package tour
- Airlines are subject to a new ecotax
- Brexit becomes a reality
- Is the Boeing 737MAX going to fly again?
- France will struggle to attract 100 million foreign tourists in 2020
- Tourism industry and Competitors news
How will customers travel in 2040?
French and Europeans are counting on low-cost airlines to continue to democratize travel. In the customer study commissioned by eDreams Odigeo, they are also betting on technology to make travel easier and more enjoyable in the next 20 years. While Flygskam (the shame of flying) is spreading in Northern Europe, the French want more connected and comfortable planes. In the survey of the online travel agency eDreams, 78% of its customers* believe that travelling will be cheaper in 2040 thanks to the hegemony of low cost and technological developments (for 53% of them). Quotidien du Tourisme
How travel agencies managed more than 40 days of strikes
The scale of the movement at SNCF and RATP has not spared the Ile-de-France region, which also has many travel agencies that have had to deal with their customers’ difficulties since the mobilisation began in December. We have collected their testimonials. With the first situation to deal with was the cancellation of train tickets in December. «This was a disaster for us at SNCF level, as we are authorised to sell their tickets. The month of December was a big cancellation period, with no possibility of postponement due to the lack of visibility over the following days and weeks. We have around 20% to 30% of cancelled trips», says Émilie Schweitzer, from the agency Le Tourisme d’affaires, in Neuilly sur Seine (92). Quotidien du Tourisme
Travel: Google always more powerful
In the journey, Google marginalizes the «natural» responses to push sponsored links and its comparators. Google has been pursuing its strategy of small steps in the journey for years. While Brussels sometimes frowns, it will take more than that for the Mountain View giant to slow down its strategy. Its inexorable rise in power, since the acquisition of ITA Software in 2001 for $700M, which we regularly mention in our columns. And even if some players in the travel industry have sometimes cried wolf, today they are less critical, as partners and competitors of a real war machine. Echo Touristique
- Aviation news
Air France has suspended flights over Iranian and Iraqi airspace
Air France has suspended until further notice «all flights over Iranian and Iraqi airspace», a group spokesman told AFP. The decision was taken «as a precautionary measure and as soon as the announcement of ongoing air strikes» from Iran against two bases housing American soldiers in Iraq.
Lufthansa also cancelled its daily flight to Tehran, while the US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) banned US civilian aircraft from flying over Iraq, Iran and the Gulf on Tuesday evening (7 January) in the wake of the attacks. TourMag
- Tour operators and travel agents news
Have your customers already seen everything? Ask them to take a step aside.
The Bynativ platform, a subsidiary of Comptoirs des Voyages (Voyageurs du Monde group) has created its list of «off the beaten track» destinations for 2020. This is an interesting approach to respond to customers worried about over-tourism or to get ideas from those who have «already done» all the countries you suggest. If they are accessible countries, Bynativ’s incoming agencies have chosen a specific region with natural assets. To be combined with a few days in a neighbouring town or region that is better known, for example.
1-Spain: Extremadura to combine nature and culture
2-Romania: Transylvania in the footsteps of Dracula
3-Oman: the whole country from the north more cultural to the south more lazy
4- Colombia: the Guaviare region for adventurous travelers
5-Russia: Karelia for its lake landscapes (60,000 including Lake Onega and Lagoda)
6-Panama: the islands of San Blas for a meeting with the Guna Indians
7-Norway: the Lofoten Islands for steep mountains in the sea and creeks
8-Canada: Abitibi-Témiscamingue for its Aboriginal communities and its nature in the province of Quebec
9-Nepal: Bardia between snowy peaks and tropical plains
10-Ethiopia: the Danakil for its salt desert among the Afar ethnic group
Leclerc Voyages posts 8% growth in 2019
In terms of departures, Leclerc Voyages’ business volume reached 657.2 million euros in 2019, up 8.32% over 2018. «The increase over three years is 34%,» estimates Bernard Boisson, general manager of the private label. In detail, the share of tourism/TO stands at 87.1%, or 572 million euros. IATA ticketing and miscellaneous services account for the balance, i.e. 12.9%. As for the overall volume of orders taken, it is expected to grow by 10.5% in 2019.
Despite the economic situation, and a few weeks after the resounding bankruptcy of Thomas Cook/Jet tours, the network remains confident: «The beginning of the year is promising in terms of order intake, and our objective will be to reach 700 million euros in business volume in 2020, including 610 million euros in TO tourism,» the manager points out. Echo Touristique
TUI will soon cease its tour-operating activities in Italy.
TUI announced in a letter sent to its Italian employees, that its activity in the Boot would cease as of 15 March 2020 reports various Italian sites. «The traditional activity of tour operators is proving to be volatile for the whole sector and in the future, the activities of the Tui Group’s tour operators in the various markets will have to be further harmonised and standardised. In this context, the Tui Group considered that there were no preconditions for a positive and sustainable development of TUI Italia and therefore decided on the voluntary liquidation of the company», the note states. TourMag
