France

And yet the French hotel industry is still going strong. In a turbulent social climate, it even broke records in 2018. Strikes at SNCF and Air France in the spring, the yellow waistcoat movement at the end of the year: all these factors did not prevent the industry from posting clear growth in revenue per room (+6.4 1TP3Q) according to the...

With more than 172 million passengers using its airports in 2018, France is one of the five largest air transport countries in Europe, along with the UK, Spain, Germany and Italy. And yet, if you take a closer look at the figures for air transport in France, you will see that the country is an exception in Europe for its extreme centralisation...

Just a 7-minute walk from the Capitole, the new Mama Shelter will be opening in Toulouse city centre. The AccorHotels Group establishment will have 120 rooms to welcome travellers from 31 October. The rooms will be fitted out with king-size beds, and will have high-speed Wi-Fi access, which is essential for...

Expansion Toulouse in growth mode The champagne was certainly popped at Toulouse Blagnac. In 2017, the airport recorded one million extra passengers in a single year, a leap of 14.5 %. An all-time record in France. With more than 9.2 million passengers, Toulouse overtook Marseille in the rankings...

With 30 events expected in 2018, 80 in the pipeline for 2019 and two signed for 2020, Metz's new convention centre is already a busy place as it opens its doors on 7 September. Designed by the Wilmotte & Associés agency, Metz Congrès Robert Schuman offers, within its...

For more information Club Business du CRT Occitanie A network of 127 MICE professionals in the Occitanie region to help business meeting organisers. Internet: www.tourisme-occitanie.com/club-business Nîmes Office du tourisme 6, bd des Arènes. 30 000 Nîmes Tel: 04 66 58 38 00 Email: info@ot-nimes.fr Internet: www.nimes-tourisme.com Bureau des Congrès 6,...

[highlight]In this issue: Nîmes, mine de rien Sète, between high art and art de vivre Collioure: Montmartre with a Catalan accent[/highlight] On 2 June, Nîmes inaugurated with great fanfare its brand new Musée de la Romanité, an avant-garde building designed by Elizabeth de Portzamparc. The aim was to magnify the Gallo-Roman collections -...

What is the profile of your business clientele? We cater for both sales staff and blue-collar workers who have travel packages at their disposal, and their bosses who appreciate the quality of our hotels, which are close to the higher categories, but at much lower prices. We have a very good market share in...

"Look at our territory: a green, mountainous, relatively compact island with a small population of less than 350,000. This could be a weakness. In fact, it's a real asset for tourism. These are the words of Daniel Charavin, Director General of the Corsican Tourist Agency...

Two brand launches, positive momentum in terms of both results and growth in the offering, and a new strategic vision to continue the upmarket efforts undertaken over the last three years: Best Western had an "extremely positive" year in 2017, according to Quentin Vandevyver, President of Best Western France. Firstly, because with a...

The Falcon X5 is dead, long live the Falcon X6. On 28 February, Dassault Aviation unveiled a new top-of-the-range business jet to replace the previous model, whose programme was abandoned just three months ago. Problems with the design of the engine developed by Safran led to the...

"A recovery everywhere, in all regions and for all categories": this is the assessment of the past year by Olivier Petit, Tourism, Culture and Hospitality partner at In Extenso. The firm estimates that revenue per room (RevPAR) in the French hotel industry grew by 3.9 % in 2017, with business mainly driven by the number of visitors...

To celebrate the opening of its 400th establishment, in Nanterre Rueil-Malmaison, B&B Hôtels has unveiled a new design that will be deployed in the budget hotel chain's future urban establishments. Designed by the interior and design architects at Agence Blanchet d'Istria, the concept is described by Vincent Quandalle, the group's managing director for France,...

At the end of last year you announced the forthcoming opening of a Spaces coworking space at La Défense. Can you tell us more about this project? Christophe Burckart - It's going to be the biggest coworking centre in France, one of the five biggest in the world, and naturally the biggest...

Every year, almost 12 million people visit 2,500 businesses in France to discover what goes on behind the scenes. Some of these companies have been awarded the "Living Heritage Company" label, a mark of recognition that the French government has introduced to distinguish French companies - whether craft or industrial - with outstanding expertise....

What is the importance of industrial tourism in your region? Yannick Le Magadure - It's the leading region in France for company visits, with 2.5 million visitors according to the 2013 "Entreprise et Découverte" survey. Three sectors of activity are particularly well represented: cosmetics, with the "locomotives" that...

Sri Lanka in 2019, the Seychelles in 2020, Vietnam in 2021 and, no doubt, other popular destinations for leisure travellers: Club Med, which is already present in 40 countries, is continuing to internalise its activities with the announced opening of three new resorts on idyllic beaches. The group intends to accelerate its growth in the coming years...

It was expected, but it is now a sure thing: Paris Orly will be the second base for Level, the long-haul low-cost airline launched in March 2017 by the IAG group, parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus. After starting operations at Barcelona El Prat last July, Level will offer flights to...

Report and photos by Florian Guillemin. If you've got an hour... The most energetic business travellers can discover the city at a brisk pace, with a jog along the banks of the Garonne, the loop between the Pont de Pierre and the Chaban Delmas bridge offering a pleasant 7 km route. For the...

Report and photos by Florian Guillemin. Bordeaux's eyes are wide open to a future that is still under construction. These days, the city is even verging on hyperactivity. Thanks to an ambitious renovation and development policy, the Aquitaine metropolis has become one of the most attractive cities in the world. The blonde stone has regained its lustre in...