French Affairs Conference 2008

Now I'm back a week from this conference, already... some excerpts:

So, with the Bosox World Series win for a backdrop we managed to get through another edition of French Affairs. This is the annual conference for top producers fo travel to France to come by invitation to a meeting organized by the French Government Tourist Office. We gathered this year in Boston, and we had more than 40 service providers from France on hand to meet with as well. The event is very well organized and is a great chance to talk business and the issues of selling France. There is of course some fun, and an awards dinner. Last year, Discover France won the Best Website award. This year, for the 3rd straight year, we were nominated in the category of Most Extensive Product Offer. That means we have a lot of stuff in France we offer! (And, there will soon be more!) We didn't win this year, but that's ok, it is an honor to be recognized again.

Some fantastic statistics came out of the meeting. First, sales are up for Americans to France and overall visits to France. It is still the number 1 destination world wide. More people are visiting but the length of stay is shorter. This means the average trip time is down to about 8 days. They call this Short Breaks. While I would call that a normal trip duration, I consider a 4 night trip from the American east coast to be a short break. 13 million people from the USA went to France this year, so far. Big increases were also seen from the Canadians and from the Australians ( rugby??). About the impression that Americans have for France, this too is on the rise. From the dark days of 2003 and the Anti-French sentiment from the war partisans, things have changed tremendously. In the USA, Americans have a 48% positive image of France. In Canada, that is 68% positive. Interestingly, the percentage of those who travel to France have a 83% positive image of France upon return.

What I love about this is how much the French Government Tourist Office cares for this information. They study it, they distribute it, and they do everything they can to do better. Yet, France remains stereotyped with an image it has long outgrown: unfriendly, unwelcoming, anti-American, etc, etc… Well, I was having lunch today with a Frenchman who came over for the conference. He was welcomed to America by a gruff Immigration agent who yelled at the arrivaling passengers about which line was for them. He yelled no cell phones. He yelled about paperwork must be ready. He yelled, he yelled. The immigration agent at the counter asked him 20 questions and looked at him as if he were an illegal immigrant or a terrorist. And do you think there was anyone available to help those who didn't speak English? Ha ha ha, Bienvenue a l'Amerique!