Informe semanal de noticias del mercado francés de la Oficina de Turismo de Tenerife en París

  • Tourism industry and Competitors news

UFC-Que Choisir takes Last minute to court

The consumers’ association announced Monday that it had taken the Lastminute platform to court, setting out its grievances. «Faced with the pernicious processes used by Lastminute to sell travel insurance on its site without the knowledge of its customers, the UFC-Que Choisir (…) attacks the operator «before the Judicial Court of Paris», explains a press release. And this, for commercial practices «illicit, aggressive and misleading». Pending the court decision, the association even recommends to consumers «the utmost vigilance» with regard to the online travel agency. Echo Touristique

Is the tourism industry experiencing its last years of recklessness?

Summarizing tourism expectations in a few words is part of a tradition established from the earliest research on the subject. Since the «3 Ds» era, we have been happy to call «trends» societal trends that we have skilfully dressed up in novelty. Let’s sacrifice to tradition by summarizing the main expectations of contemporary tourists with a few words illustrating both change and permanence at the same time. For, in a world on the move, the paradox of our society is that not everything changes. Health, Safety, Sobriety, Simplicity, Smile, Singularity… the «6 S’s» or the diktats of contemporary tourism. TourMag

  • Aviation news

Paris-Orly : Level will close Las Vegas at the beginning of March

The low-cost long-haul airline Level France has indeed eliminated two of its six routes to Paris-Orly, the one to Las Vegas inaugurated last autumn as of 1 March and the one to Boston, which was due to come into service in the spring. The reservation system of the Spanish low-cost flight specialist now confirms the information revealed last week by the flight attendant union SNPNC. Flights between its Paris-Orly base and Las Vegas-McCarran airport, which were inaugurated last October at the rate of two flights per week, will no longer be offered from March 1, 2020. Air Journal

Coronavirus: several airlines stop flights to China

While Air France has halted its flights to Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic, until further notice, other airlines have taken even more radical measures, by ceasing operations or reducing their flights throughout China. This is the case of British Airways, which on Wednesday announced the immediate suspension of all its flights to mainland China. A decision that follows the instruction issued by the United Kingdom to avoid travelling to the country. British Airways operates daily flights from London to Beijing or Shanghai. The British airline is the first European airline to take such a measure. Myanmar National Airlines, Air KBZ and Myanmar Airways International, the three Burmese airlines connecting China, have announced that they will stop their routes as of 1 February. Echo Touristique

  • Tour operators and travel agents news

Laurent Abitbol (Marietton) : «It’s YOU who chose us.»

Laurent Abitbol denies the rumour of an imminent signature with TUI France. The project, if it must go ahead, will take at least a year, says the boss of Marietton. The project of «partnership» of TUI France makes run much ink, and questions the employees of the tour operator. But Laurent Abitbol, president of Marietton Development, rightly calls to keep: «We are not going to sign this week, this is nonsense», he asserts firmly, to deny the rumor. «Me, I don’t hide if I buy, but we are very far from it! » Echo Touristique

Is the TUI Group still a tour operator?

The world’s leading tourist group is multiplying major manoeuvres at the beginning of this year. New cruises, closure of subsidiaries, cessation of activities… An overview of the strategic evolutions. As the world’s leading tourism group, the TUI Group is in the midst of a reorganisation at the beginning of this year. In a press release, the German giant details its new strategy. «The group continues to reduce its dependence on traditional tourist circuits and increases its concentration on its core business with hotels, cruises and destinations». A strategy that was immediately put to music with the first three important decisions. Tour Hebdo

Cediv is committed to reduce the carbon footprint of its members

It is now a must in the industry: the network of independent agencies is setting up a programme to limit the impact of its activity on the environment. «We thought that with 250 agencies, it was time to act,» says Adriana Minchella, President of Cediv, at the network’s greetings ceremony at Barramundi in Paris. «This is why we are launching the «Dana» initiative, named after a Celtic goddess,» adds Richard Soubielle, who is piloting the project. He will be accompanied in particular by Victoria Morin, who is following a Master’s degree in sustainable development and organisations at the University of Paris-Dauphine, after an initial career in tourism, notably with Etihad and Air France. Echo Touristique

Ôvoyages continues its transformation into a generalist TO

After a year 2019 during which the tour operator met all its objectives and recorded a turnover of 197 million euros (+10%), Ôvoyages is already looking forward to 2020 with gusto. «To date, and while we have budgeted +15% of activity for the year 2020, our order intake is up 50%», says Raouf Benslimane, the CEO of Thalasso N°1/Ôvoyages. «All the networks with which we work are performing, and this since the summer of 2019 and even before the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook», analyses Raouf Benslimane. Because the bankruptcy of the British giant is reshuffling the cards on the French market, according to Samia Benslimane, the CEO of TO. «2019 has been a turbulent year, with bankruptcies (Thomas Cook, Aigle Azur, XL Airways) and the immobilisation of the Boeing 737 MAX, which has reduced available air capacity. And it is precisely because of this that we are competitive: at a time when everyone is making dynamic packages, our air commitments are a real added value,» notes Samia Benslimane. Echo Touristique

Marietton confirms its participation in Selectour Bleu Voyages

It’s signed. The «closing» of the merger between the two companies took place on 31 January 2020, announces a short press release from Marietton Développement. In other words, the Lyon group is now officially a shareholder of Bleu Voyages, with 42.5% of the capital. The remaining shares are held by the Lorente family. «I will lead this new group, as chairman, as I do at present», says Jean-Pierre Lorente, in another press release, also dated today. «This merger will enable us to meet the many strategic and technological challenges of a rapidly changing industry with confidence and to continue our development,» he added. Echo Touristique

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Este sitio usa Akismet para reducir el spam. Aprende cómo se procesan los datos de tus comentarios.