Aito member Expressions Holidays has hailed the success of its trade push on France, which has included dedicated training webinars about the destination. 

The operator has reported the number of bookings of French holidays made by agents increased 66% year-on-year, with a 312% increase in sales revenue, when comparing Oct 23-Feb 24 with Oct 24-Feb 25.

Marcelle Hoff, managing director, told TTG: “The popularity of France comes and goes over the years but right now it’s going from strength to strength. Overall our booking are up 32% year on year. The current boom really started at the end of Covid – people like the flexibility of travelling in their own car, and our rail/drive itineraries to the Loire Valley, the Dordogne and Provence are booming.” 

France was largely overlooked by the trade, she acknowledged, adding: “We know that when agents are not familiar with France, its language and geography, for example, the various departments can confuse – these can all be stumbling blocks, and we don’t know how many agents put people off from booking with them before they come to us.” 

She also said it was an easy trap to assume that France is full of English people who return to the same place and always book it themselves. "There is a bit of snobbery with France – ‘oh we can do it ourselves’ – but there is also a huge number of people who haven’t explored the regions and there is so much to discover.”

“There aren’t many fam trips to France – there are no resorts as such. It’s more of a tailor-made destination, which is much harder to sell, unless you know it well.”

“We’re trying to break through that barrier – make agents aware that they can come to us and we will help, with our expert knowledge. We are making huge progress with the trade.”

France was the original destination in Expressions Holidays’ programme, back when the operator was founded in 1989. Hoff explained that they still work with many of the hotels they first contracted at the very start, and those relationships have flourished. That was before Eurostar and Le Shuttle were operational so clients could only take ferries or flights. 

Freedom of the open road

“Now a lot of our clients go by train, and take their car or pick up a hire car,” says Hoff. “It’s really important that you have a car, to see the villages and the countryside.” 

Expressions’ traditional market is couples and adult friends, who are interested in touring, food, wine, history and sightseeing. France isn’t a bucket and spade destination – that doesn’t really exist there, unless you’re talking about camp sites or a small number of really high-end resorts that cater for families. 

Hoff explains that Expressions favours small hotels, with character: “There’s an expanding range of this product – farms and chateaux offering activities on-site, such as spas, tennis, bikes to hire and swimming pools. They often offer artisan courses too, such as painting, wine tasting and cookery.”

Keeping it local

When training agents, Hoff advises them to ask their clients about the types of activities they enjoy. “Some will say Michelin star dining but others don’t want vineyards at all – they want to go walking near rivers. When we know what they like doing, we can match it perfectly.” 

Popular misconceptions include the lack of a warm welcome from the French, she says, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, she says. “There’s a love-hate relationship between the two countries that goes back hundreds of years but when you travel around the country, you’ll find the French people are very welcoming and very appreciative of people who are interested in their customs and traditions.” 

Another misconception is that France can be a hard country to navigate, with long distances to drive, but Marcelle insists the motorway system is very efficient, and many gems can be found in close proximity to the main routes. France has the same population as the UK but it’s double the size so it feels much emptier and it’s easy to get around, she says. 

Looking at current trends, both longer and shorter itineraries are selling well. Brittany is having a real renaissance – while Provence never falls out of favour. This year Expressions is offering a short break by train with tickets to the Cezanne au Jas de Bouffan exhibition at Musee Granet (running June 28-October 12) in Aix-en-Provence included. 

Languedoc deserves to be better explored, she says. It’s slightly trickier to get to, from an airlift point of view, but it’s generally crowd-free and full of historic towns, castles and vineyards. 

She also suggests less well-known cities such as Bordeaux for a city break, which also combines well with the Dordogne. Visiting Paris, Strasbourg and Lyon by train is an appealing itinerary, which showcases three different cities that combine easily together. And the great thing about Provence, she says, although it’s popular, there are still plenty of untapped areas where you get that authentic, French experience.

Hoff also teased that Expressions was looking to address the lack of fam trips for agents: “Watch this space,” she said.