What does your business consist of, and what geographical areas does it cover?
Xavier Bessard - Our textile business was very much focused on India, from where we imported products for distribution in Europe. We have reoriented this business away from the European market and repositioned ourselves on Africa. We also have a consultancy business, as well as the production of household products in the broadest sense of the term, for the home, hospitals, hotels, etc. These are the products that enable us to offer our customers the best possible service. It's these products that have enabled us to expand in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean. So we cover a lot of markets, except for the Americas.
What was your travel volume before the crisis, and to which destinations?
Xavier Bessard - I travel between 250 and 300 days a year. This includes Africa, the entire Middle East including Iraq and Iran, India, Pakistan, French Guiana, Reunion Island, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mayotte, Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia and New Caledonia. When the health crisis began, we were keen to expand, and we were interested in areas where we were not present but which we used as stopovers, such as Singapore or the Japan. So I travelled a lot, both to maintain my network of existing customers and to develop new business.
How far back did you travel?
Xavier Bessard - I took my last flight on 13 March. I could see the borders closing one after the other. I was in the Middle East, I had to get to Kuwait and QatarBut we had to go back.
Did you feel exposed or in danger?
Xavier Bessard - Not really, given the countries I'm used to covering, such as Iraq and Afghanistan... So I don't feel much danger. It wasn't so much a question of a health hazard as a risk of being blocked in a country for 14 days or more, without being able to work and be productive. That's what bothered me.
As a company director and business traveller, aren't you torn between the rush to conquer new markets and the fear of being exposed?
Xavier Bessard - Today, I'm wondering when we'll be able to travel again, and above all how. What worries me is being able to travel again, to be by our customers' side again, because we have plans to open local production facilities. I also don't know what's going to happen to my visas long-stay visas for countries like Russia or India, visas for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire... We need to know when the planes will be back on the road, and how to get abroad. Today, everything is blocked, including business travel agencies, because making reservations only to cancel them two weeks later is pointless.
Do you work with a business travel agency?
Xavier Bessard - Historically, we are followed by Travel Concept. We do very few single round trips, but more often than not circular trips, involving several countries and therefore several airlines. In terms of fares and trip planning, it's better to go through one of our partners. travel agencyAt least as far as air travel is concerned. We deal directly with everything to do with hotels, and the visa file is outsourced to a specialist. Before the crisis, there was a desire to go direct and do without travel agencies. But that's not possible, except in the case of simple trips. It's virtually impossible with our type of travel. It would mean putting together several different, unrelated dossiers. To bring everything together in the NRP, we are virtually obliged to go through an agency.
Has videoconferencing established itself as a viable alternative in the more or less long term?
Xavier Bessard - La videoconferencingIt's interesting. I used it again this morning, but the people aren't out in the field, they're at home, and you can't see the product, touch the quality of the fibre, negotiate... For a month, it enabled us to make progress on certain issues, but today we're stuck in negotiations.
How do you see the post-crisis period in terms of air travel?
Xavier Bessard - According to the forecasts published by a number of airlines, including the Lufthansa group, we will have to wait until September for a return to 25% if all goes well, and several years to get back to 2019 traffic levels. This is a catastrophe. For us, it will be very problematic. I don't know what we'll be able to do for certain areas and certain customers. And I think prices will go through the roof. Especially as the social distancing will force carriers to block seats. There will be fewer airlines and some carriers will not be able to continue. I really regret that this episode was not an opportunity to create a real European airline with Germany.
Do you expect to travel as much as before once the crisis is over?
Xavier Bessard - I hope so, but I'm afraid I'm being rather utopian. For one or two years, travelling will be much more difficult. There will inevitably be a before and after to Covid-19, because it's unprecedented. We're stuck, we can hardly travel even in France.
Did previous epidemics (H1N1, SARS) have an impact on your travel?
Xavier Bessard - No, these episodes hadn't affected our travel at all, we'd never had to cancel trips because of problems like that. I'd never been held up like that.
Psychologically, the situation must be unprecedented for a frequent traveller...
Xavier Bessard - The problem is above all that you can't plan ahead, you can't say to yourself "I'm going to do this". I book a plane ticket for 1 June or 1 September, prepare my visa applications, etc." . There's no real resumption date, it's all guesswork. That's the problem.
Are you expecting airports to be equipped with new controls, such as "health Parafas"?
Xavier Bessard - This is what was done in March in a destination like Singapore, and it didn't cause any problems. The question is how it's organised. There was a real problem in France, reminiscent of the Chernobyl cloud... When I travelled abroad at the start of the crisis, I saw countries becoming firmer, with a real passport inspection, a form to fill in and a temperature check. As early as February, in countries like Mauritius and even Madagascar, passengers arriving on their territory were being dealt with. At Roissy in mid-March, anyone could arrive without having to fill in any forms. Whatever happens, air travel will be complicated for a long time to come.
