It was in a very favorable context that the IFTM/Top Resa tourism fair ended on September 28. After two years weighed down by attacks and the economic crisis, summer tourism growth has been significant. It was 10.3% for French TOs according to the barometer of the tour operating companies union (Seto) presented on the sidelines of the show.
This progression resulted in a business volume of 1,974 million euros, an increase of +7.7. And it is Greece which was a hit this summer, occupying first place in the ranking of the best-selling destinations, in the medium-haul segment. The Canary Islands archipelago is in 2nd place with 132,982 French visitors.
In addition to the flagship destinations of Southern Europe which continue to attract more and more French vacationers, North Africa made a strong comeback in 2018 sales with increases of 41%. Although they have experienced crisis situations, tourist destinations such as Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt are recovering with respective growth of 56%, 83% and 106% for package tours.
The first trends for winter are just as good for Morocco and other North African countries. Unsurprisingly, Morocco should be a hit for the end-of-year holidays and TOs already have 8,350 orders. But be careful, Tunisia and Turkey are catching up with us. Faced with these competing destinations, Morocco cannot boast of its additional arrivals (12%).
We could have done more if the summer season had not been disrupted. Seto confirms this: transport problems in several destinations weighed heavily on these achievements. Thus, according to Seto, the RAM pilots’ strike led to several flight and travel cancellations. It should be noted, however, that purchasing channels have greatly diversified in recent years in France and other European countries.
source:leconomiste.com
