We love Travel Agents!
Last month, we participated in a seminar organized by the French Government’s Maison de la France in San Francisco. It attracted some 130 travel agents from the Bay Area who were there to learn more on how to sell France, to make contacts and have a drink. The whole BellaTerra family showed up: Beth, John, Laurent and myself.
Different kinds of associations and companies were represented amongst the stands. Several American tour operators had a table, such as RailEurope and European Tours. Some Regional Tourist Offices also made the trip all the way from France to proudly advertise their French region. I got to chat with my friend Penelope Vinter, the Sales Manager representing the Burgundy region, who helps me negotiate new contracts within this beautiful area soon-to-be featured on our site.
It was the opportunity for me to not only meet a bunch of travel agents ecstatic about our products, I also discovered new boutique Parisians hotels that I believe our clientèle will love, such as Le Chat Noir, a brand new design hotel located near the Moulin Rouge cabaret.
It was an exciting opportunity for us, and I must proudly say, a huge success. Our table was crowded the whole time, we distributed all our brochures and goodies and got a wonderful payback after that. It’s not easy trying to get our name out there, but the word is definitely out and despite the Euro not being on our side, we are growing healthier and stronger every day, and building wonderful, and hopefully lasting relationships with dedicated travel agents.
