Interview with KARIM MEKACHERA - Director of Maison de la France

Director of Maison de la France in India shares his views of how the French Tourist Office creates awareness about the country which offers diverse experiences for visitors

France has the unique distinction of being the number 1 tourist destination in the world for three consecutive years attracting more than 78 million tourists every year. France has diverse landscapes from mountain ranges to coastlines in Brittany and the French Riviera with Nice and Cannes being amongst the popular destinations. The coast of the Mediterranean Sea, rich cultural heritage in terms of chateaux or castles like Versailles, countryside, vineyards in Burgundy, ski resorts in the Alps, and the Loire Valley along with the famous Mont Blanc at Chamonix, the Pope's Palace in Avignon and the gateway city Paris which has some of the best tourist attractions including the Louvre Museum, the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, Cathedral of Notre Dame and nearby the Disneyland Paris which has just completed 15 years and continue to attract tourists in large number each year.

No wonder the number of tourists visiting France each year far exceeds its population. The best way to commute across the country is by the high speed TGV (train à grande vitesse) the world’s fastest train which has exceeded speeds of more than 500 km/hr. The Paris Visitors and Conventions Bureau in association with Maison de la France / French Tourist Office India launched the first ever edition of `Paris Event' in India earlier this year to showcase what Paris has to offer to the Indian traveller. During the event our Editor cum Tour Consultant Subhash caught up with Karim Mekachera, the new Director in India for Maison de la France to find out why France continues to attract more travellers than ever before.

What is the role of Maison de la France?

Maison de la France is the National Tourist Office of France and has different offices across the globe. We have a very close alliance with our national carrier Air France and whenever we want to penetrate new markets we always take help of Air France as they are our strategic partners. Air France in fact was one of the founders of Maison de la France. So we have an agreement with Air France and after exploring new markets and understanding them for 3 to 4 years, we set up our own independent office. Our role is to create awareness about France in general not only amongst the travel trade but also the visitors.

Maison de la France which is the French Tourist Office is having budgets allocated from the Tourism Ministry to create awareness of our country amongst the consumers. Actually, Maison de la France is an association of members, of an economic interest group which has a very specific status in France. The prime goal of Maison de la France is the promotion of France as a destination. We have 35 offices around the world and we are always looking for new markets. We have different goals for different markets. In case of the Indian market, our role is to first have our presence here and we have seen a healthy growth of around 15 to 20 percent every year out of the Indian market and we currently have over 200000 visitors from India each year that come to France especially to Paris which is the gateway city . In the next 5 to 7 years we are optimistic that this number will go up to 700000 visitors from India who will visit France every year .

From which country do you get the maximum tourists?
France receives 78 million visitors every year. In Paris the majority of visitors are Americans and Britishers and with the Eurostar trains and the low cost airlines, we get a lot of tourists also from within Netherlands, Germany and other European countries. From Asia we get maximum tourists from Japan followed by China and India. With Japan and China, English language at times is a problem, hence out of the total number of tourists we have 60% visitors who come in groups and 40% in Free Individual Travellers (FITs). We expect the FIT numbers to grow in the coming years although from certain markets where language is a problem, we will expect the group travel to continue.

Do you liaise with any organizations for promoting French Tourism?
Our first priority is to promote France as a destination and thereafter the various experiences which make up for the special interest tour groups as the country offers various aspects such as gastronomy, wine, culture, education and so on. There are students who want to learn French as a foreign language and they come for higher studies in France and there is the Alliance Française in India as in most parts of the world which offers courses in French and after having completed the elementary, intermediate and advanced levels, some of these students travel to France for higher studies. A lot of students are also showing keen interest to study MBA in France and we have some of the best business schools in our country. Then there is Fashion which is a very niche market and there are many who wish to come and study in fashion schools especially in Paris which is the fashion capital of the world.

How are you working towards inviting tourists to explore other destinations besides Paris?
We are working towards that because today the general conception that most travellers have is that Paris is France. But none the less I would say that Paris still remains the gateway city of France especially for the first time visitors.

What makes France the No 1 Destination in the world?
France is the No 1 destination due to its diversity which is also common in India. Both India as well as France have a lot of diversity to offer to the visitors. In France, you have the opportunity to discover a new country in every city. Every region has different culture, gastronomy, architecture, etc. this is why I think France is one of the best tourist destinations in the world.

What are the challenges you face in promoting France in the Indian market?
With the growth in the economy, the Indian market is bound to grow. So our prime focus is to keep pace with the rapid growth that takes place here in India. Our priority is to ensure that Indian visitors that travel to Europe, France should not only be a destination as part of the European circuit but a destination in itself and that is our long term priority. As for the mid-term we want to increase the number of overnight stays in France. We want to ensure that the Indian visitor spends a greater duration of their stay in France as France is not just Paris and the French Riviera- there is Normandy, Brittany, Bordeaux and many regions especially for the repeat traveller. Our first step is to consolidate the existing regions that people visit. We would like to create awareness amongst the media so that write about the places and what they have to offer. After consolidating Paris as a destination and the French Riviera, we would like to create awarness of wine tourism in places like Bordeaux. Then there is La Rochelle with its old town, harbour and boat trips to the islands nearby, then there is Cognac and Normandy which also has a lot of offer. Our focus is to make the consumer aware of the diversity that France has to offer.

What has your overall experience been in India ?
I like Mumbai as it is a very exciting city, a city always on the move, proactive, dynamic and it's very nice to work here. I like the Indian culture very much. That's probably because it is the diverse culture that is the common factor between India and France. Both the countries have great, long history and traditions. I feel there are lot of similarities between the Indians and the French. In fact I would say Indians in a way are Latin. I would love to discover the country. However, I would say that even an entire lifetime is not enough to discover India as it is a very vast country and has a lot to offer.

Do you plan to come up with any promotional strategies to promote France?

Yes we certainly have a plan for 2008. But firstly we have to find more than one way to communicate about our destination. We do have French films that are shown from time to time thru' Alliance Française. We would like to have fashion shows, festivals of gastronomy to display the wide variety of cuisine and wine that France has to offer. Although currently, our main focus is on the trade and I agree that we should also start focusing on the consumers. We need to find the right channel to communicate to the end consumer who is interested to know more about France and tourism opportunities that the country has to offer. Our website is comprehensive in nature and those who are interested to know more about France must visit www.franceguide.com as the website provides various solutions to promote special events and essential information about France. About 2 million people visit this website every month and with increasing awareness I am sure many Indians planning to visit France can take advantage of the information available on our website. One of the most important things for the Indian traveller is to get practical information when they visit our country especially about food including options of Indian cuisine, where can one get a taxi or métro. One of our priorities is to update the practical information on our website to facilitate the consumer with comprehensive information on accommodation, transportation, cuisine and details of various events organized in our country.

What message would you like to give our readers?
I would like to tell the readers that if they visit France , their visit would never be disappointing; because France is diversity first. So, every city or region you visit, you will be discovering a new country. Wherever you go you will find a new way of life.

What makes Paris the No.1 tourist destination?
Paris is the most popular destination worldwide because of its excellent attractions, and its rich culture, its history, romanticism and also because of activities such as shopping and cabaret. Also Paris has many things to see and do and it's a fantastic place to visit. Paris holds about 6000 events per year, so a visitor can be sure that he will never get bored during his stay. Even if you just stroll through Paris, you will still enjoy because it has so much to offer. It is a small city and can be covered from east to west through subways in just 40 minutes.

What is the role of the Paris Convention and Visitor's Bureau?
The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau is an organization set up with the objective to promote tourism in the city of Paris. We have three principal missions: to welcome visitors to the city, to provide information and to promote the French capital as a leading tourist destination. Our bureau interacts with the trade and members of the media as well. In Paris we give a lot of importance to welcoming our tourists. Like for the Indian visitors we have taken special initiatives to train the hotels and cabarets in the city as to how to deal with Indian tourists in terms of their likes and dislikes, food preferences, shopping interests and so on.

How long have you been coming to India to interact with the Travel Trade and what is the growth that you have seen in terms of tourism?
We selected India in 2003 and since then we have been coming here every year. We select only the top countries in which we are most interested in to promote Paris. We also interact with the trade and representatives from India at the WTM held in London every year as there are several travel professionals from India who are present at the World Travel Mart. In Paris, we have very good relations with the Indian Professional Tourism Industry and in the past, we have invited travel agents as well as members of the Press for site inspection and fun trips in collaboration with Maison de la France and Air France. We work throughout the year with the Indian market.

Every year we have about 200000 visitors from India that come in to Paris. We expect an increase of 20% per year and in the next 5 to 7 years, the Indians will be amongst the top 5 nationalities to visit Paris, along with the Americans, the British, the Japanese, the Chinese and the Russians.

What are the steps taken towards Food and language which appears to be the major problems for Indian visitors?
Well, in fact I don't think language is a problem because both Indians as well as Parisians speak English. Hence, they can communicate easily. However, it is difficult to welcome the Japanese and Chinese as there are only a few of them who can speak English as the majority speak only their native languages.

As far as food is concerned, we have Indian restaurants where majority of the chefs are Indian. Vegetarian food is available everywhere in Paris; so, that's no longer a problem. It's true that we have to be well equipped to handle Indians. In fact we have the names of Indian restaurants on our website www.parisinfo.com

What is the minimum number of room nights a visitor should spend in Paris?
On an average, a visitor from India spends 2 nights in Paris, but it is increasing to 3 nights because of our collaboration with the tour operators. Also we have noticed that we have more and more Indians coming from London as there are convenient connections on Eurostar.

Have you taken any efforts to make Paris appealing to family and children?
Yes, we have. Though Paris is a romantic destination, we also have many parks, gardens, museums and aquariums that will attract families and children. Also there is boating and cruising for families. In Paris we do know that Indians travel in families so the hotels too are well equipped with connecting rooms. The information about these attractions is also available on our website. We have a dedicated section on our website for families. You have the Montparnasse Tower, specific museums for children, the Eiffel Tower and many activities where children can participate.

Are you planning to promote special events in India?
We do not promote specific events since it's very difficult to choose from the 6000 events that are held every year. However, we promote one event per month, for example the French Open at Roland Garros in June. It's quite difficult to select more than one event. Indians like horse racing and there are horse races too that are popular and later this year we are hosting the Rugby World Cup and there are several activities lined up during autumn this year. Also, an interesting event called 'Sleepless Night' or la nuit blanche is to be held on a Saturday night during the first weekend of October. As the name suggests, Paris does not sleep the entire night; everything is open and lit all night.

What is the scope of incentives coming toward Paris Tourism?
The incentive from Indian market has increased a lot since 2003. There are groups of Indian incentives especially doctors and from pharmaceutical companies. We also get Indian chefs to cope with the problem of gastronomy.

What is your message to readers heading to Paris?
Paris is a beautiful and an affordable city. We have prices across all levels in Paris. You will never get bored. Paris. We are also now equipped to welcoming the guests from India and we are sure that any visitor coming to Paris will have a wonderful stay in our beautiful city.

ABOUT PARIS

Paris has always been one of the most popular destination attracting over 200000 visitors from India every year. Paris is a gateway city to other regions in France and offers a multitude of options with its different facets. It is a melting pot of romance, culture, leisure, fashion, lifestyle, gastronomy, conference and exhibitions. Whether it is the French Open at Roland Garros or the Eurodisney on the outskirts or the TGV high speed train which can take you to most corners of France, a visit to Paris offers a unique experience not only for the first time traveller but also most visitors who have fallen in love with this beautiful cosmopolitan city. Our Editor had a short tête-à-tête with Patricia Barthelemy, Promotion Manager of Leisure Marketing and Communication for the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau to explore why Paris remains the No 1 destination for the Indian traveller visiting mainland Europe.