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Tour operators doing
leisure groups
Most destination specialists run a group department that caters to groups heading to the country they specialize in. Similarly, clientele specialists and specialty tour operators run their own group department.
Besides, a couple of hundreds travel agencies in France run a group department in addition to their retail counter. The front desk caters to individuals and retails tour operators packages. The office upstairs heavily markets high schools, non profit organizations and companies committees. You definetely should know more about the companies committees / work councils market as they spend a huge budget on travel.
Leisure groups planners either deal with foreign suppliers (hotels, transportation and sightseeing companies) and receptive operators for setting up tours. They usually go for net rates or ask for 20-25% commission.
We'll be happy to provide you with a mailing list of tour operators specializing in groups or to approach them for you. Ask for more information.
How do they work?
They often make reservation with receptive operators but, when they sell volumes to a specific destination, they tend to directly deal with suppliers (hotels, transportation and sightseeing companies).
They usually test a new supplier many times before they actually make reservation but once they are happy with it, they stick to it. They go for net rates or ask for 20-25% commission.
How can you reach leisure
groups?
Directly marketing high schools, non profit organizations and companies committees may sound appealing. This is not a good idea. Be aware they very rarely deal with foreign travel professionals. The reason is there has been a few bad experiences with groups being stranded abroad when a foreign supplier did not provide the service he was committed to.
On the opposite, groups traveling with a French tour operator are protected by the law : the tour operator is fully responsible for the services he sold, whether his suppliers provide them or not and must find a solution. This drives groups to travel with a French tour operator rather than with a foreign company. See our page : tips to break into the French market.
Consequently, you will get better feed back if you establish relations with French tour operators.
Trade shows will generate a list of contacts with tour operators and, on the long run, you will start getting business from them. The drawback is the cost for your company. Besides, be aware that only a small percentage of French wholesalers do attend to trade shows and you only reach a handful of potential distributors.
Advertizing in the travel trade press is an option you could consider. The two leading magazines -l'Echo Touristique and Tour Hebdo are read by the most French travel professionals.
Direct marketing will give very decent feed back, especially when you reach the right companies. Our experience proves that many companies which don't attend to trade shows give good return on mailings. Ask for our mailing lists.
A sales representative for France is a good way for establishing and keeping business relations with French wholesalers. Knowledgeable about the French travel industry, the sales representative directly selects your potential distributors, approaches them and follows up on them for you. Hired full time or part time, he will save you time and money.
Leading types of clientele
Youngsters are one major source of clientele for group travel. High schools often set up educational tours. Most of the time, they take students to European countries either for discovering the sites, the culture or speaking the language. They are looking for cheap accommodation and transportation and strongly focus on reliable chaperoning.
Senior citizens are the second large clientele for group travel. A lot of them join senior citizens clubs which propose short outings or overseas trips. These clients spend a lot on traveling and are willing to get a good value for their money. They prize comfortable accommodation, good food, sightseeing, entertainment and are usually not comfortable with foreign languages.
Non profit organizations (sport, leisure...) often propose to their members trips to various countries. They may be related to the organization activity (i.e a scubadiving club will propose a scubadiving vacation) or be a get together opportunity for the members who will travel together to some country.
Companies committees are independent organizations whose creation is mandatory in France for companies hiring more than 50 people. They are run by the staff and subsidized by the company. Formerly created to develop social programs, companies committees now devote a large part of their budget on funding group travel for the staff. They usually print catalogs or flyers proposing tours worldwide set up by various wholesalers and spread them to the staff. Companies committees spend billions on traveling and represent a huge market for group travel. They usualy plan their programs one year ahead.
