100 tourism professionals from the region gathered in Avignon
As the only region in France to host an event of this scale, Travel Meet brought together 100 tour operators from around the world.
Indeed, the Comité Régional de Tourisme Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is the only CRT in France to organize an event of this scale, as François de Canson points out: "With Travel Meet, the CRT is at the heart of its mission, offering 100 professionals from the region the chance to meet 100 tour operators, some from the other side of the world, during 2,000 scheduled appointments." MANY EVENTS IN PROVENCE IN 2025 "Two years ago, we hosted 65 tour operators, and this year, at the Palais des Papes, there were 100 of them! This shows the success of this event!"
In 2026, we will not be organizing Travel Meet because we will be hosting "Rendez-vous en France" in Nice, in partnership with Atout France. Why Avignon? After the 2022 edition on the Côte d'Azur, we wanted to visit all the territories in our region. This year, it's Provence!
Many events are announced for 2025 in Provence, including the Cézanne year in Aix-en-Provence, the 30th anniversary of Avignon's inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Mont-Ventoux climb in the Tour de France, and the 25th anniversary of "Avignon cultural capital." 50% of the tour operators came from long-haul markets (North America, Asia, etc.) and 50% from nearby markets (Scandinavia, UK, Germany, Central European countries, etc.)
, adds the president of the CRT. A few examples confirm the importance of this event, as there were 9 Americans, 2 Koreans, 5 Japanese, 4 Chinese, 4 from Middle Eastern countries, 6 Germans, 5 Italians, 4 Spaniards, and 4 English. In short, all 5 continents were represented.
DESEASONALIZATION STRATEGY Concerning tourism professionals, almost all of them are members of the CRT's Club Pro and represent all territories of the region. For this edition, 70% came from the Côte d'Azur and 10% from the Alpes du Sud. 35% are accommodation providers, 10% are incoming agencies, and 24% are destinations (tourist offices, ADT).
In addition, 3 pre-tours were organized to help them discover the territory, in partnership with departmental agencies and tourist offices.
"Travel Meet is at the heart of our deseasonalization strategy, which is why it takes place in December. It is an opportunity for tour operators to discover Christmas in Provence and the Côte d'Azur in winter. This makes it possible to raise awareness of the actions taken by the CRT to better smooth tourist flows throughout the year and across the entire region, such as the development of sectors like cycle tourism, know-how tourism, wine tourism, and modern and contemporary art..."
A leader in the ecological transition, the Région Sud voted the first 100% green budget in Europe. This means that every investment takes into account the climate emergency," concludes the vice-president of the Région Sud.
• PLEASE NOTE... During their stay in Avignon, the tour operators discovered: • Menton, Nice and Antibes (culture and art of living), • L'Estérel with Roquebrune-sur-Argens (gastronomy and wine), • La Provence Verte (gastronomy and wine), • Hyères and Toulon (MICE), • Avignon (heritage) and the Lubéron (prestige), • Vaucluse (art of living and gastronomy), • Avignon and Nîmes (UNESCO), • Alpes de Haute-Provence (culture, heritage and nature), • Marseille and the Bouches-du-Rhône (know-how, MICE and prestige). A post-tour allowed them to visit the Alpes du Sud in Briançon and Montgenèvre from December 11 to 13.