FRENCH MARKET -EUROPEAN MARKETS INTELLIGENCE NEWSLETTER- Delphine CAMARA - Caribbean Tourism Organisation c/o Interface Tourism

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1 -EUROPEAN MARKETS INTELLIGENCE NEWSLETTER- FRENCH MARKET Contact in France for more information on the French market and on the marketing opportunities for your own destination: Delphine CAMARA - Caribbean Tourism Organisation c/o Interface Tourism 11 bis rue Blanche PARIS France Tel: + 33 (0) Fax : + 33 (0) caraibes@interfacetourism.com

2 1. BIENVENUE EN FRANCE* France enjoys a geographical and economic location in the very heart of the «Euro Zone» and the European Union million people km² divided in 22 regions /95 departments and 9 overseas departments and territories 5 big urban areas over 1 million inhabitants : Paris (9.6 million), Lille (1.7 million), Lyon (1.4 million), Marseille (1.3 million) and Toulouse (1 million) 5 th world leading economic country with $ GDP per capita (2007) 1.5 % inflation rate (2007) / 1.6% (2006) 8 % unemployment rate (2007) The net average salary is up to (senior managers in private sector) years old represent 65.2% of the French population years is the average life expectancy (77 years old for men and 84 years old for women). Seniors citizen s quality of life means better mobility. 160 airports allowing the majority of French cities to be connected with all the main airports in Europe and in the World. 60 years old is the average age for retirement * welcome in France 2. FRANCE, A GREAT POTENTIAL FOR LONG-HAUL TRAVELLERS France is the 5 th outbound market in the World with an International expenditure of 28.6 billion US$ (after Germany, USA, UK and Japan) France is the 2 nd outbound European market for long-haul travel (after Germany) Departure rate is 73 % (2007) 22.2 % of French people travel at least 1 time per year to overseas destinations : million people A total of 190,3 million trips were recorded in 2007 (covering all destinations, including France) 10.6% were trips abroad and correspond to 20,1 million stays (or million overnights) out of which 14.4 million were long-stay leisure trips (minimum 4 nights). This represents a % increase compared to The increase of travels abroad concerns namely the high revenue segment (including empty nested couples) but tends to spread to the middle class. France is the World annual leave champion! French people have officially 5 weeks vacation per year. Nearly 30 % of the working population has more than 30 days annual vacation granted by particular agreement. Moreover a large part of the population benefit from the 35 hours week work law and some of them (mainly from the high revenue segment) have up to 48/60 days. (Germany : 27 days, Netherlands : 25 days, Belgium : 24 days, UK : 23 days). FRENCH TOP DESTINATIONS IN 2007 Even if Europe remains the 1 st destination of French tourists, Americas, including Caribbean destinations, are well-positioned in the French choices but tend to decrease : -12 % during 2000/2006 period. On the contrary Asia and Africa register an important increase of their French arrivals. When reviewing the package sales in winter 2007/2008, the 10 top destinations were : Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Dominican Republic, French Caribbean, Spain, Italy, Mauritius, Mexico and Senegal. FRENCH DESTINATIONS FOR SUMMER 2008 TOPS: Dominican Rep. : +46.6% - USA : % - Turkey : % - Egypt : +22.7% FLOPS: Morocco : -8.9% - French Caribbean :-16.1% - Senegal :-25.1%

3 3. FRENCH TRAVELLERS: FAQ How old is the French traveller? Around 44 years old. Highly segmented market : Young people : 25 % of trips made by the youth segment (14-24 years old) take place in foreign countries. Retired people / seniors : free time, good purchasing power and very keen on travelling abroad, all year long. Executives empty nested couples Families with children Where doe they live and what do they do? Parisians represent 1/3 of French travelers More generally, people living in big cities (more than inhabitants) have a higher propensity for traveling abroad. The standard of living strongly influences the departure rate : Top executives and senior officers : 92% (6.5 annual trips on average) Mid-management officers : 85.8% (5.1 annual trips on average) Services employees : 74.3% (3.6 annual trips on average) Students : 69.7% (3.7 annual trips on average) Workmen : 64% (2.8 annual trip on average) When do they travel and how often? French tourists travel to Seaside destinations mainly during Spring (30%) and Summer (30%). But some also like to travel during Winter to what we are used to call Winter Hot & Sunny destinations Number of trips per person per year is 4.3 (the highest rate among Europe) up to 8 for the high revenue segment. French people travel abroad on average 1.4 trips per year How much do they spend? An average of 1700 / per person / leisure trip on one week basis What is the French traveller s philosophy? The French traveller is barely a repeater but they are an excellent word of mouth communicator. When they are choosing an emerging destination or new products, they will always consider their experience as a social ascendant even if they are not completely What are their requirements & needs? REQUIREMENTS NEEDS Quality Good value for money Comfort Warm and personal welcome Lack of constraints (visa, vaccinations, long flights ) Reliability Flexibility Exclusivity Authenticity What are their interests when travelling? Exoticism Culture Ecotourism Traditional habits Shared moments with locals Gastronomy Relaxation time and activities (wellness, swimming, water and land sports and handcraft shopping) How do they purchase their holidays? For seaside destinations, 67% of holidays purchased are all inclusive packages. More and more last minute planners with a short lead time between booking and travel. Women are generally the decision makers regarding the travel destination choice.

4 4. FRENCH TRAVEL TRADE & DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS What you should know and remember about the trade The French Tourism Trade is very fragmented: 500 tour operators (about 150 are wellknown by the consumers) Around travel agencies (60% belong to Integrated or voluntary retail networks) Around 180 Incentive Houses / MICE agencies No clear difference between tour operators and distributors: among the travel agencies, about 40% are both tour operator and distributor. Trends of the Trade: Recent concentration movement On-line brochures and bookings development End of airline retro commission to travel agencies Growing of the multi-channel distribution: call centres, Internet, travel agencies General reinforcement of the mass marketing networks in the general stores (malls) As a consequence: Tour operators are willing to control the entire Tourism Industry Chain i.e. : production, distribution, BtoC and BtoB Website, transport, accommodation. Tour operators: Brochures are published twice a year: Winter brochures (packages from October 1 st to March 31 st ) Summer brochures (packages from April 1 st to September 30 th ) Top 10 French Outbound Tour operators in 2006 Rank TO MARKET SHARE 1 Club Med Group 23.50% Middle-up market resorts 2 Nouvelles Frontieres (TUI Group) 16% General 3 FRAM 6.10% General Low Cost 4 Marmara / Etapes Nouvelles (First Choice Group) 5% Low cost resorts & tours CLIENTELE 5 Jet Tours 4% Middle-up market 6 Kuoni France 3.60% Up market tours & packages 7 Go Voyages 3.30% Online / Air tickets 8 Look Voyages 2.60% Low Cost resorts & tours 9 Marsans / Transtours 2.60% Specialist in Latin countries 10 Voyageurs du Monde 2% Up-market General / direct sales / FIT Travel agencies : French travel agencies (TA) generate a turnover of 12 billion, including some tour operating activities, such as à la carte packages. Their most important activity remains ticketing. Booking through TA is much more frequent for holidays to foreign countries than to France. When air transportation is required, 75% of the trips are booked via TA. Top French retailer networks Rank Retailers Networks Total number of agencies 1 Afat Voyages Selectour Tourcom Thomas Cook France Manor Nouvelles Frontieres Distribution 212 CETO ( is the official association of tour operators in France. This association has around 70 members among the main French tour operators. Its goals are to highlight and defend the TO members. SNAV ( is the official association of French travel agencies.

5 5. FRENCH TRAVEL MEDIA What you should know and remember about the media The French consumer press is very extended with around titles (newspapers and magazines) with a total circulation per issue of about 140 million. There are 135 daily newspapers (national, regional, local). Every day, nearly 74% of the French population read at least one general magazine / newspaper. There are a total of 1743 consumer magazines with: Trade press: Travel industry members use the trade press as a main source of information. French trade press is composed of 10 titles, out of which 5 are main travel trade magazines in France, read by nearly every travel agent in France. Consumer press: Consumer travel publications, magazines, TV programmes and newspapers are among the most important sources of information for holiday planning. 115 specialised in Tourism & Travel, 400 specialised in sports (among them, 86 directly concern sports practiced in Caribbean islands : golf, sailing, water sport, fishing ) 64 specialised in Gastronomy & Wine Among the 115 printed consumer magazines specialised in travel & tourism, half of them are fully dedicated to French regions, the other ones being dedicated to French and international destinations or to international destinations only. Around 700 journalists are specialised in Tourism press and work for magazines & newspapers (offline and online), TV and radio programmes. AJT ( - the French Association of Travel Journalists gathers more than 160 members (mainly freelancers). Some magazines are specialised in : Luxury, Hotels, Ecotourism, Continents Tourist guides: Each year, 800 to 900 new guides are edited or reedited in France. In 2005, the tourist guides sector represented 130 million. Tourists guides sales chart: 1. Guide du Routard: 2.6 million guides 2. Le Guide Vert : 1.8 million guides 3. Le Petit Futé : 1.6 million guides 4. Lonely Planet : guides 5. Gallimard collections Travel Trade media : TRADE PRESS Periodicity Subscribers Segment Note Tourmag.com Online Daily General L Echo Touristique Weekly General Le Quotidien du Tourisme Daily General + daily e- newsletter + daily e- newsletter Tour Hebdo Weekly General TourismExpress.com Online Daily Nc General Univers des Voyages Monthly Leisure Strategos Every 2 months Leisure Voyages d Affaires Every 2 months Business Voyages & Stratégie Monthly Business L Evènementiel Monthly Business

6 5. FRENCH TRAVEL MEDIA cont. Main French consumer Magazines newspapers : MAGAZINE WEBSITE Periodicity Copies Travel Magazines HOTEL & LODGE Every 2 months ULYSSE Every 2 months n/a VACANCES DE LUXE Every 3 months GEO MAGAZINE Monthly GRANDS REPORTAGES Monthly n/a PETIT FUTE MAG Every 2 months n/a L'OFFICIEL VOYAGE Every 2 months Lifestyle Magazines ELLE Weekly GALA Weekly n/a GLAMOUR Monthly n/a HOMME DE LUXE Every 2 months MADAME FIGARO Weekly MARIE CLAIRE Monthly VERSION FEMINA Weekly n/a VOGUE Monthly National Newspapers COURRIER INTERNATIONAL Weekly LA TRIBUNE Daily LE FIGARO Daily n/a LE FIGARO MAGAZINE Weekly LE MONDE Daily n/a LE MONDE 2 Weekly LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR Weekly n/a LE PARISIEN - AUJOURD'HUI EN FRANCE Daily LE POINT Weekly n/a LES ECHOS Daily PARIS MATCH Weekly