Rendezvous-en-France 2025 was attended by over 700 exhibitors from France and 817 tour operators representing 62 countries from around the world
The event saw non-stop B2B meetings
With as many as 32 Indian travel agents and tour operators in attendance, the 18th edition of Rendezvous-en-France, the flagship B2B tourism event that seeks to promote France as a global destination, concluded in Lyon in southern France, registering several highs.
The event, organised by Atout France, the tourism promotion organisation of France, was attended by over 700 exhibitors from France and 817 tour operators representing 62 countries from around the world. According to Atout France, the two-day event saw over 28,144 scheduled B2B meetings between the foreign tour operators and the French exhibitors. The tourism promotion agency adds that as part of its endeavour to showcase the best of France, a total of 53 FAM trips were organised for the visiting tour operators and media.
Addressing the media, Rose-Marie Abel, Acting CEO of Atout France said that Rendezvous-en-France 2025 was held in the back drop of a stellar performance by the tourism industry in France, which received over 100 million international visitors who spent more than EUR 71 billion, both record figures.
Rose-Marie Abel
Abel also outlined the key activities planned in France in 2025 to keep the momentum going. These include major sporting events like cycling event, the Tour de France, as well as major art exhibitions like the centennial celebrations of noted French artist Paul Cezanne.
‘‘While we want our tourism industry to keep growing at a healthy rate, we want to promote quality over quantity and we want to keep sustainability at the heart of our tourism industry,’’ Abel told India Outbound on the sidelines of Rendezvous-en-France.
With a healthy growth of over 15 pc in terms of Indian visitors in France in 2024, India was present in a big strength at the event as Atout France India hosted 32 travel agents from across India for participating in the event.
Sheetal Munshaw
Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India says that in 2024, France had reached very close to crossing the pre-pandemic tourist arrivals and that she was certain of that barrier being broken in 2025.
‘‘Last year, we had about 650,000 Indian tourist arrivals, which was about 15 pc growth over 2023 and very close to our grand cru year of 2019, when we had about 700,000 Indian visitors. So, this year, we expect to reach the pre-pandemic high,’’ Munshaw tells India Outbound.
Ajay Chhabria
For the Indian travel agents invited to attend Rendezvous-en-France and the associated familarisation trips to different parts of the region, the experience was an ideal mix of destination knowledge and business networking.
Ajay Chhabria is President of Intime Travels by Design, a travel services firm that caters to an elite clientele, especially from western India.
“France is extremely important as a destination and we do a lot of business because the French Consulate in Mumbai is the only consulate that gives us visas very quickly. So, we make it a point to promote France as a destination. We have a lot of clients and we make sure that they come into France somehow. So, we handle a lot of business for France and most typical customers for us are elite ladies who come to Paris for shopping and we also do a lot of ski holidays. So, we are promoting France as a skiing destination. And of course, south of France is very popular, especially, Nice and Monte-Carlo and that region,’’ Chhabria tells India Outbound.
He says that participating in the event and the FAM trips helped broaden his knowledge about the destination.
“I must say that I have got to learn about a lot of new regions, basically. And in fact, I have also got to know that there are some lovely villages and towns across France which are really ideal for self-driving holidays as we have a lot of self-drive clients as well, so they definitely have a lot of new products to give them,’’ says Chhabria.
Aseem Hattangadi
Aseem Hattangadi, Founder of Mumbai-based travel firm, the Travel Therapist, says that he had been looking forward to attending the meet in France as it allowed opportunities to explore off-beat France.
“I was looking forward to returning to the deeper regions and more products to create better product and itineraries for my clients, because I saw new elements, both in Paris and in the south of France and I feel this has been quite a productive show for me. I got the opportunity to meet a lot of good partners who have been very cooperative and I am looking forward to selling France much more aggressively and much more passionately compared to what I used to before,’’ Hattangadi tells India Outbound.
“The main takeaway for me was this Vikings attraction in Normandy. I really like the region of Normandy, which is just about a little over an hour from Paris, and I had no idea that the Vikings were in other parts of Europe except in Scandinavia,’’ he adds.
Nagsri Shashidhar
Nagsri Shashidhar, Chief Happiness Officer of Nagsri, a Mumbai-based travel agency, is a regular at Rendezvous-en-France and says that attending the event has been a fruitful experience for her.
“I think Rendezvous-en-France is an event that we really look forward to attending year on year. It is probably my 20th year of attending the workshop and I think the expectations have always been met because it is such a fantastic show where I meet just about every supplier from every nook and cranny of France, all under one roof, which makes it so much more, you know, kind of satisfying and fantastic meetings,” Shashidhar tells India Outbound.
“Considering the changing trends of the quintessential Indian client, who are asking more for lesser-known villages, countryside experiences and culinary journeys. France has all of this and much, much more. And that is exactly what we are looking for in a show like this,’’ adds Shashidhar.
Amey Kudtarkar
It is not just the tour operators catering to upper end of the market who were satisfied with the visit to France. Amey Kudtarkar is Assistant Manager, Leisure Travel Outbound at Thomas Cook India, one of the oldest and largest players in Indian travel industry.
“I actually really wanted to meet as many local players as possible in France with products that we could use for our group departures and I met and got to see a lot of hotels personally. It was a wonderful experience for me. I saw good properties which were literally in our budget and matching requirements for the volumes that we bring. I also saw their breakfast options and meals. I also visited a lot of local restaurants serving local meals which were very fascinating and we are trying to incorporate it in our departures as well. I met a few coach companies also with which we made a direct contact,’’ Kudtarkar tells India Outbound.
French regions set sight on India
Catherine Gouttefarde
For the French tourism stakeholders, notably their regions outside of Paris and its surroundings, the Indian market is a crucial one and which has attracted their attention in the past few years. One such area is Region Grand Est that covers a large part of France, notably the wine growing areas of Champagne, Lorraine and Alsace, which borders Germany. For Region Grand Est, India is one of the most important long-haul markets.
‘‘In Region Grand Est, we receive about 400,000 tourists per year and the Indian market is the 4th largest long-haul market, after the United States, China and Brazil. And we had 35 pc more Indian customers in 2024 than 2023. The Indian clientele, for us, is very interesting because they go to a lot of high-end hotels. And they also have an average expense that is quite significant per day because they do activities, they go to restaurants. For us, it is really a very, very important clientele,’’ Catherine Gouttefarde, CEO, Grand Est Tourism, tells India Outbound.
She adds that India is a key market also because it attracts Indian customers for longer stays. ‘‘We have three different destinations, Champagne, Lorraine and Alsace and it allows tourists to plan long itineraries in the region,” she says. With a large number of visitors from India arriving in Grand Est, the tourism promotion agency is now aware of the specific requirements of the Indian visitors and is trying to meet their expectations.
‘‘In our region, we need to train the hoteliers a little bit because to receive the Indian families and customers, it needs special attention and requires having special equipment in the rooms, so they have to adapt,’’ says Gouttefarde.
Loic Chovelon
Besides Grand Est, Region Sud in southern France has also seen a significant number of well-heeled Indian visitors headed to iconic destinations like Provence and Cote d’Azur and though India is not yet in its sight, the region is planning some activities in 2026.
‘‘India is not today in our top 10 and though some of our destinations like St Tropez had tested the Indian market, it did not work out as the Indian market was not ready for exploring our region. But now we start to discover that the taste of Indian travellers has evolved and now they do not visit a destination just to tick on their bucket list, but more to discover our culture and our heritage,’’ Loic Chovelon, CEO, Region Sud Tourism, tells India Outbound.
Beyond the regions, tourist attractions are also increasingly focused on the Indian market, which is already one of their top focus areas, at least in terms of long-haul markets.
Frederic Grouguidis
‘‘It was very interesting to meet our travel trade partners from India. We had the chance to meet the biggest, the major operators such as Thomas Cook and SOTC, with Atout France and it was a great event for the network, the quality of the network. The event in Lyon was really great. And in my opinion, it was really great for everybody,’’ says Frederic Gouguidis, International Sales Director, Compagnie des Alpes, a large French tourism company that owns and manages numerous attractions like Parc Asterix, Musée Grévin and Chaplin’s World, besides a clutch of ski resorts.
With the rising number of Indian visitors headed to France, local Destination Management Companies, such as Europe Incoming, are also seeing a significant growth in their business.
Claude Micallef
‘‘We have a very good feedback. I mean, they are actually planning for 2025 and 2026 even now. The new itineraries, they want some new experiences as well. And obviously, Europe Incoming is well positioned for that. So we will increase the business with the Indian market for sure. And what are the novelties they are looking for? I mean, Paris will be always Paris, but they want to go to the vineyards, they want to go to the sun, they want to have some experiences on the sea, on the beach. They want to eat good food as well and our continental experience as well. Before, the Indians were eating vegetarian and only Indian food. And now, they are willing to experiment the occidental food, which is good,’’ Claude Micallef, Director, Europe Incoming, tells India Outbound.
‘‘For Europe Incoming, India has always been important and from day one, we have over 30 people who are working in India for us. In London, we welcome hundreds of thousands of Indians. And if you talk about our target for growth in India, that means you talk about your limit. We have not got any limits. We want to go over what we can,’’ adds Micallef.
To ensure that the market growth continues to gain momentum, the French stakeholders have upped their game in India and are engaging with the market in a proactive manner.
‘‘We did marketing operations in the Indian market with Atout France last year. We also organise educ-tours where we welcome tour operators to discover the territory. At this Rendezvous-en-France, we made a lot of appointments with the Indians. We know that the Indian market is in full development and it is important to have more clients from longhaul markets because they are less dependent on the weather. For us, our biggest clientele with 12 million guests is Germany, but since it is next door, they cancel their visit if the weather is not good. Whereas distant clientele, notably Indians or Asians, they do not change their plans so quickly so it is very important to have clients who do not cancel and we hope that the market will continue to develop,’’ says Gouttefarde of Grand Est.
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