Despite Inflation, “Target Hasn’t Been Overpriced”

As travelers return to the United States, the USA Tourism Office in France has decided to (re)visit tourism experts.

” During the epidemic, many travel agents left the profession and new employees, often very young, no longer had reflexes, knowledge and experience of the destination. “, underlines Remy Venetian, Chairman of the Visiting USA team.

To help them, support them and provide more expertise, Association – almost thirty years old – continues its digital activities, and now in person.

He is currently touring across France.

This Tuesday, November 21, in Marseille, 25 exhibitors, including a dozen tourist offices, traveled to discuss with Provençal distributors and tour operators. ” We welcome Nearly 60 professionals Out of 120 registered. It’s satisfying and I’m excited about this great opportunity to reconnect with experts in the region. Our last visit was a few years ago », comments by Remi Vénitien.

During this evening, both visitors and exhibitors were able to exchange very actively until 9 pm. ” The idea of ​​the evening is for travel agencies to come and get information to convince their customers. », adds the head of the Visit USA team.

A draw allowed some participants to win prizes, one of whom even walked away with two Delta Airlines tickets to the US. Even if there is no second city in France Direct flights to USAOther regional airports (Nice, Lyon, Geneva) can represent an alternative to Provençal.

read more: Marseille Airport: America at the Crossroads Thanks to the Olympics? 🔑

The workshop continues in Paris on Thursday, November 23. Thanksgiving Day, Hard Rock Cafe (14 Boulevard Montmartre, 9th arrondissement) 5pm to 9pm.

250 professionals 40 exhibitors are expected to attend the event.

US OT will travel later Lyon, Tuesday November 28 5pm to 9pm (at Hard Rock Café – 1 rue du Président Carnot), later In Bordeaux, Tuesday December 5 5pm to 9pm (Opposite Bateau Pertigala 2, 7 Qui de Querreys).

Agencies can meet with local tourist offices, airlines, travel routes, ground service providers, inbound operators, tour operators, car rental companies, currency exchange operators, etc.

As in Marseille, at the end of each workshop, guests are served a cocktail and can participate in a draw to win different prizes and awards.

After a break during the year-end holidays, the USA OT will put a layer back on Training, with Two days in Paris Tuesday January 9 and Tuesday January 30, 20249 am to 5:30 pm around the theme The Great American West (Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, North and South Dakota, Idaho) and special attention California.

Registered travel agents and product managers can meet up to twenty experts*. To the United States Tourist Office in France, purpose Train fifty travel professionals per training session.

A new one E-learning Published, accessible until summer 2024. Each of our e-learning courses consists of about fifteen blocks of about fifteen questions each. To become a tourism professional, you need to get certified 90% correct answers », explains Remy Venedian.

This tool not only allows travel agents to get a lot of information and participate in contests, but also allows them to be certified and automatically integrated. USA OT’s “Specialist Agencies Club”. So, ” They haveAdditional visibility On our site, with Prioritizing client requests to their agencies », continues the chairman of the Visit USA Committee.

The association also publishes A travel guide It provides advice based on region and travel recommendations, and lists OT members’ destination and travel agency contacts. It is distributed at consumer fairs. ” With this guide, we make recommendations and try to encourage clients to knock on the doors of agencies, but we don’t sell trips. », notes Rémi Vénitien.

OT also organizes farmtrips from time to time. ” The last one was in the spring of 2023 with about fifteen agents and TOs able to locate Detroit and Minneapolis. », he adds.

Parallel to training, association is objective Ask the professionals tourism ” We organize lunches in the region with tour operator vendors to learn about their day-to-day problems and see how we can support them. », Remy cites the Venetian as an example.

Liaise with union SETO and answer union questions about USA, “ Help share information “.

OT can also be seen at B2B and B2C tourism fairs such as IFTM Top Reza, Festivitas in Mulhouse or Mahana Tourism Fair in Lyon. Because Communication with the general public is also part of its mission.

The Visit USA Committee relies specifically on its website Inform passengers. ” The most visited page dedicated to entry methodsComments by Rémi Vénitien.

We have also provided facilities for passengers A mailing address inform them ([email protected]). We can help people who have problems with their ESTA application, for example those who fill in some information fields incorrectly, and allow them to resolve the situation. “.

Passengers will also be forced Apply for a visa If they have visited certain countries since 2011 (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen) or Cuba since 2021. These people have to go American Embassy In Paris, they must pass a few-minute interview », explains Remy Venedian.

With the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, USA OT is in focus Visa issuance next summer.

” Access to the United States Embassy is via the Place de la Concorde, as it should be A fan zone all summer long. For now, we have no comment from Paris City Hall or the authorities in charge of organizing the Games. Security system in placeOr if a sidewalk is dedicated to passengersRemy Venetian explains.

If this is not the case, i[nous ne savons pas si l’Ambassade pourra ouvrir un autre site à Paris ou en France, ou bien si les voyageurs français devront se rendre à Bruxelles ou Madrid pour obtenir leur visa entre juin et septembre 2024 ». ]I am

In any case, US OT advises all customersExpect their request : ” A visa to the US is valid for ten years, an ESTA for two years. Passengers are therefore advised to make their request in advance. Including those who need to redo their passports. A certain delay is expected », emphasizes the head of OT.

Generally, the Visit USA Committee advises travelers Book your vacation as early as possible.

” Last minute promotions are over. Leisure customers keep coming back. In the first ten months of 2023, these 1.35 million French people One who went to America 15% less than 2019 (1.6 million on the same date) This was an absolute record year for Target », referring to Rémi Vénitien.

Three years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, better performance for the long-range goal.

Despite inflation, this place attracts French visitors. ” We are still seeing growth among tour operators, with customers booking earlier than usual to benefit from better rates and without changing length of stay. », confirms the president of OT, who estimates a 3 to 7% increase in the cost of living in the United States.

” The destination is not overpriced “.

* Great American West: Arizona, Colorado, Delta Air Lines, Flagstaff, Flexible Autos, Great American West (North and South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming), Oregon, Scottsdale, Utah.

* California: Visit Air Tahiti Nui, California, Off-Road Destinations, High Sierra, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Tundra Tours, Worldwide Attractions and Experiences, Greater Palm Springs.