Discerning traveller and the millennials to drive revival
The last six months have given Atout France ample opportunities to participate in webinars and presentations and impart knowledge on France to the trade pan India. Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France India and her team have been in regular touch with the trade and the media to regularly update them on the evolution of the situation in France.
The travel industry will once again need to reinvent itself to adapt to the current circumstances and the changing pattern of travel trends that all are observing. While domestic tourism is slated to be at the forefront of the revival of the tourism industry, there will also be a genre of travellers who will want to travel to outbound destinations once the situation improves and Sheetal believes that the discerning traveller and the millennials will drive this revival.
More than ever, the counsel of the travel agent will be sought in determining the choice of location and sanitary measures implemented by countries to assure the safety and security of international visitors. “There will be a strong demand for ecotourism/sustainable tourism-oriented holidays, more sojourns in the great outdoors as well as self-drive holidays. Communication on these safety measures and the relay of this communication across multiple platforms will be crucial in driving the recovery of the industry,” explains Sheetal.
Atout France has been regularly communicating on virtual visits, safety measures adapted by their partners and re-openings of emblematic sites and monuments. They have also been in regular touch with the trade and the press and have been regularly updating them on the evolution of the situation in France. Atout France will also be organising two virtual B2B workshops in September- one exclusive for Paris and its region and the other on France – allowing for exchanges between the trade and our partners.
For their partners in France, an interactive world map has been created which gives real-time information on the evolution of the situation in countries where Atout France has a presence. Sheetal shares, “During the months of May-June, we had organised country/ zone specific webinars for our French partners giving them an update on the situation in each of our countries and tourism trends. Early October will also see our offices world over engaging in virtual interactions with our partners to discuss collaborative opportunities for 2021.”
According to Sheetal, very soon the focus will shift from quantitative to qualitative tourism. Travellers may not hesitate in increasing their spends to guarantee complete safety while travelling and on the other hand, destinations may also encourage less of over-crowding of monuments, showcasing lesser-known, offbeat locations and encouraging more cultural and local interactions.