The annual French travel trade show Rendezvous en France, that was held in Toulouse, saw a large participation with 28 travel agents from across India discovering new regions of France, notably Occitanie and Rhone-Alpes in southern France.

The marvels of southern France mesmerised a large Indian delegation, comprising 28 travel agents from all over the country, who turned up in Toulouse, in Occitanie region of France to attend the 2024 edition of Rendezvous en France, the annual travel trade show organised by the destination promotion organisation, Atout France.

The delegation comprised of travel professionals across segments including tour operators, large B2B players, Online Travel Agents and specialised boutique travel agencies with a focus on FIT, says Sheetal Munshaw, Director of Atout France in India.

Hosted buyers participated in familiarisation trips in various regions in France including host region Occitanie, Grand Est, Provence with destination Luberon and Aix en Provence, Auvergne Rhône Alpes and Loire Valley, she adds. 

‘‘The buyer seller meet proved to be successful in connecting Indian travel professionals with the French travel fraternity gaining knowledge about the destination and its versatile offering as well as establishing connections with relevant industry professionals, identifying new products and services and inspiring Indian professionals to showcase different facets of France,’’ Munshaw tells India Outbound. 

This edition also conferred travel agents from various source markets with the ‘France Connaisseur’ certification by Atout France CEO Caroline Leboucher. Sunita Amarnani, Executive Vice President of VExplore Management was one of the five hosted buyers to receive the certification at a gala event organised at the Aéroscopia Museum in Toulouse on the opening night of the convention.

Indian agents mesmerised by French regions

The Indian trade delegation attending the event this year comprised some old hands of the French market as well as some for whom this was the first exposure to the country and others who returned to the destination after several years. Nonetheless, irrespective of their knowledge of the country, practically every agent was left spell-bound by the beauty and diversity on the offer.

For Guldeep Singh Sahni, who is co-Chair of FICCI Outbound Tourism Committee and also the Managing Director of Weldon Tours and Travels, a travel firm in Delhi, Rendezvous en France 2024 marked a return to France after a long while. 

“I am very impressed with one thing which is the kind of agents selected from India for Rendezvous en France. There are some who are doing lots of volumes, others are more niche, so it is a good mix of agents from India. While we have attended Rendezvous France earlier, it has been a wonderful exposure because I find that a lot of things which France now offers are to the taste of the Indian market. People want to go now and experience luxury in a way of experience, not as someone picking up their bags and putting it in the hotel. So I find that as a very good change,’’ Sahni tells India Outbound. 

He adds that on his familiarisation visit, which included the Alpine region bordering Switzerland, he found new sites which offer a perfect spot for the Indian visitors, including those looking for destination weddings. He adds that the beyond the sight-seeing the meetings with the French partners have also been very productive.

“The sellers are explaining it well and there is a good connectivity now. And I visited the Alps region, bordering Switzerland I found that it was so attractive. There were sites here that were ideal for destination weddings and much better than Lake Cuomo in Italy and I also found the prices to be reasonably good here,’’ Sahni adds.

For Sunita Amarnani, Executive Vice President of Mumbai-based travel firm VExplore, too, the visit to France came after a while and she says she found the country to have transformed significantly.

“This is an entirely different France that I am seeing now, I see a lot of change. It has actually grown in terms of its offerings, way beyond what I had imagined. So right from experiences to hotels to food, you name it, the right things are just here. The destination now has a lot to offer for Indians. And it is much more than Paris that the Indians usually do,’’ Amarnani tells India Outbound.

She says that she found several experiences and destinations to be highly appealing to him. “I discovered so many new places like Nimes as well as Carcassonne and the castles here was one of the highlights for me. We also visited vineyards which would perfectly match what our clients are looking for,’’ Amarnani adds.

Beyond the discoveries of new gems of France, the quality of meetings at Rendezvous en France was also excellent for her. “I think the Rendezvous as a platform was excellent for me. I obviously came with a lot of hope to meet new vendors and new products and here I am completely satisfied with the kind of meetings that I had,’’ says Amarnani.

For Anoop Kanuga, Director of Mumbai-based Bathija Travels, the visit was also very productive due to introduction to new areas, which would come in handy for his clients, who are mainly high-end as well as business travellers.

“This visit allowed me to discover some of these new destinations to see what is there in terms of sightseeing or what is the kind of food and wines that those regions have to offer? And what is the transportation? For my clients, the primary challenge is the transportation because since it is a left hand drive country, we have to arrange for like a private chauffeur for people who are not comfortable driving on the left side of the road. So we are talking to these transporters,’’ Kanuga tells India Outbound.

Kanuga adds that this visit would be useful for him not just in terms of new destinations for his own company, but also allow India’s largest and oldest travel trade association, TAAI, to work with Atout France to promote these little-known parts of France in India.

“TAAI, as an association, is planning to work with France as they educational programmes for travel agents and we will see how we can use our network to allow more travel agents all over India to learn about France,’’ says Kanuga.

Neha Jain is Partner at Spectrum, a Kolkata-based luxury travel firm that specialises in customised travel for small family groups. She says that the visit to Rendezvous en France 2024, her first-ever for the show, was fruitful as it helped her meet with partners and find out little-known experiences that would come in handy when tailoring itineraries in India.

“We pay a great deal of attention to making the itineraries for our clients and this trip has helped me a lot as I have been able to see many potential sites and activities to be added as these are places that are out of the box and something new, which is what our customers want,’’ Jain tells India Outbound.

Jain says that the market in Kolkata is growing and also for her business with people increasingly taking a break around the Durga Puja vacations as well.

Soni Gupta, Assistant Manager Products, of Ottila, a Mumbai-based travel firm, says that her visit allowed her to gain first-hand experience for building new itineraries for France that she can launch in India. “Visiting these parts of France allowed me to discover new destinations which I can suggest to our clients, especially for those visiting the country for the second or third time. Plus the suppliers here are well-prepared and we had productive discussions,’’ Gupta tells India Outbound.

Gupta adds that her clients are now looking for a variety of activities and experiences, centred on culture and adventure.

For Meha Vashi, Founder and Director of Nivalink, a Mumbai-based travel company, Rendezvous en France 2024 was her first experience of the show and it allowed her to get to know many destinations within France that she could offer to her clients. 

“It has been an amazing experience. All this while, we have been just doing Paris and Nice. But we deal with a lot of luxury premium customers so for them it is always about what next? So, I needed to give them something more beyond Paris. And that is where, my visit to Occitanie and Rhone Alpes regions will allow me to suggest itineraries, including self-drive from Occitanie to Cote d’Azur region,’’ Vashi tells India Outbound.