TourMaG – What is your assessment of 2026 for Havas Voyages?
Arnaud Abitbol : Like everyone else, we were affected by the Middle East conflict.
The months of March, April, May and June saw a roughly 15% drop in bookings on average, with activity picking up again in mid-July and an unusually strong August.
September also looks positive.
In terms of business travel, thanks to a robust acquisition strategy on our part, we are growing.
Ultimately, although we anticipated 2026 would be a very tough year, we will obviously finish with results lower than 2025, but not by a large margin.
For the end of the year, budgets coming in are rather healthy. We won’t have a year like 2025, which was exceptional in every respect, but 2026 should still be a very good year.
The results are solid and we are very satisfied. Four or five months ago, in April, we would have signed up for this.
Arnaud Abitbol : Like everyone else, we were affected by the Middle East conflict.
The months of March, April, May and June saw a roughly 15% drop in bookings on average, with activity picking up again in mid-July and an unusually strong August.
September also looks positive.
In terms of business travel, thanks to a robust acquisition strategy on our part, we are growing.
Ultimately, although we anticipated 2026 would be a very tough year, we will obviously finish with results lower than 2025, but not by a large margin.
For the end of the year, budgets coming in are rather healthy. We won’t have a year like 2025, which was exceptional in every respect, but 2026 should still be a very good year.
The results are solid and we are very satisfied. Four or five months ago, in April, we would have signed up for this.
Fabrice Allion brings an “expertise in retail and customer experience”
TourMaG – And how is the year ending shaping up?Arnaud Abitbol : Booking levels are trending very positively.
At the start of each month, we run national campaigns. On September 1st, we ran a Polynesian promotion and, by noon that same day, we had sold 90% of our stock. We’ve done well with these events and it works. It’s positive and it says something about the state of the market.
Moreover, in October, Japan will be in the spotlight, with stays designed by our inbound operator Japan Experience.
TourMaG – What are the big topics for this rentrée for Havas Voyages?
Arnaud Abitbol : There is notably the arrival of Fabrice Allion, who brings a profile quite different from what is usually found in tourism.
He previously served as retail director at Zadig & Voltaire. He therefore knows retail extremely well.
He joined us a few months ago and is doing an excellent job with the agencies.
It is one of the big new developments at Havas. He structures things, supports the teams and brings fresh ideas. It does us a lot of good.
TourMaG – Was his recruitment aimed at a need within the travel agencies? A move upmarket to complete?
Arnaud Abitbol : He has real expertise in retail and the customer experience.
His mission is to understand what happens in a point of sale, to work on the customer experience and to support the teams. That is his métier. He knows these topics inside and out.
For us, the challenge was more to bring best practices in retail management, to consolidate what we already knew how to do, to learn new things and to ensure that best practices are shared by everyone.
It is a substantial effort and we are already starting to see the results in the agencies.
Marietton Développement looks at developments in Europe
TourMaG – Could you tell us more?
Arnaud Abitbol : Without revealing what we’re doing or with whom we’re in talks, I think we’ll make announcements by the end of the year.
There is a strong focus on the acquisition of TMCs abroad, particularly in Europe. The aim is to strengthen our European positioning to better serve our clients.
We have already identified several TMCs with whom we have begun discussions. Some are already quite advanced, notably in the Netherlands, in Italy, and in Portugal.
On the tourism side, we continue to operate mainly opportunistically. Opportunities arise and we study them.
Read also: Marietton: acquisitions of TMCs abroad expected soon!
TourMaG – Does this fit within the development of Supertripper?
Arnaud Abitbol : That’s exactly it. Supertripper is a fully integrated TMC, with an SBT that we find extremely efficient. We therefore think we have a card to play in Europe.
We see that, in markets close to France, the level of technological maturity isn’t the same as here.
In France, there are a multitude of SBTs and solutions, with new players appearing regularly. In the Netherlands, Italy, Spain or Portugal, we see that tools aren’t always as mature and online penetration rates are much lower than in France.
Acquiring a TMC in these countries also means giving it access to our tools and, perhaps, making Supertripper a brand that could be deployed at a European scale.
For these acquisitions, we target companies with annual revenues under 100 million euros.
We also keep the same philosophy. We ask the founder to reinvest part of their cash-out into the holding so that we remain co-owners in the project.
It was rather natural up to now in France because, in tourism, many people know Marietton. For a foreign leader, that may be less obvious. We will see whether we need to adapt our approach.
Arnaud Abitbol : Without revealing what we’re doing or with whom we’re in talks, I think we’ll make announcements by the end of the year.
There is a strong focus on the acquisition of TMCs abroad, particularly in Europe. The aim is to strengthen our European positioning to better serve our clients.
We have already identified several TMCs with whom we have begun discussions. Some are already quite advanced, notably in the Netherlands, in Italy, and in Portugal.
On the tourism side, we continue to operate mainly opportunistically. Opportunities arise and we study them.
Read also: Marietton: acquisitions of TMCs abroad expected soon!
TourMaG – Does this fit within the development of Supertripper?
Arnaud Abitbol : That’s exactly it. Supertripper is a fully integrated TMC, with an SBT that we find extremely efficient. We therefore think we have a card to play in Europe.
We see that, in markets close to France, the level of technological maturity isn’t the same as here.
In France, there are a multitude of SBTs and solutions, with new players appearing regularly. In the Netherlands, Italy, Spain or Portugal, we see that tools aren’t always as mature and online penetration rates are much lower than in France.
Acquiring a TMC in these countries also means giving it access to our tools and, perhaps, making Supertripper a brand that could be deployed at a European scale.
For these acquisitions, we target companies with annual revenues under 100 million euros.
We also keep the same philosophy. We ask the founder to reinvest part of their cash-out into the holding so that we remain co-owners in the project.
It was rather natural up to now in France because, in tourism, many people know Marietton. For a foreign leader, that may be less obvious. We will see whether we need to adapt our approach.
“We will not become hoteliers, but we are looking at opportunities”
TourMaG – The other major topic was the acquisition of a lodge in South Africa, a place you will own outright. What does that signify for the group?
Arnaud Abitbol : It’s a true, large-scale project, and our first hotel project of this magnitude.
We are encouraged in this thinking by our shareholder, who pushes us to go further in this segment of the hotel industry and to acquire tangible assets.
We realize that gaining greater control of the value chain and owning a hotel in a stable destination can be a real asset.
Of course, these are cash-intensive projects. They involve substantial investments, but in the long term, they are very interesting.
TourMaG – What is the genesis of this acquisition? Marietton is more specialized in travel agencies and tour operators.
Arnaud Abitbol : Frédéric Braun, the head of Akilanga, is very active in South Africa and knows the market well. He presented this project to us. We approved it very quickly at the last strategic committee.
Ultimately, it’s quite virtuous and quite simple. I don’t believe there has been a change in intention or strategy.
We have distribution, production and a DMC. This DMC works locally with different partners, notably hoteliers. From there, opportunities of this type can arise.
We also know that we can market a portion of the capacities.
From the outside, this may seem very distant from us, but it feels quite natural. We move people, so owning a hotel isn’t completely unrelated to our activity.
We will not become hotel operators on a large scale, but we can periodically look at strategic opportunities. These are topics that increasingly interest us.
Arnaud Abitbol : It’s a true, large-scale project, and our first hotel project of this magnitude.
We are encouraged in this thinking by our shareholder, who pushes us to go further in this segment of the hotel industry and to acquire tangible assets.
We realize that gaining greater control of the value chain and owning a hotel in a stable destination can be a real asset.
Of course, these are cash-intensive projects. They involve substantial investments, but in the long term, they are very interesting.
TourMaG – What is the genesis of this acquisition? Marietton is more specialized in travel agencies and tour operators.
Arnaud Abitbol : Frédéric Braun, the head of Akilanga, is very active in South Africa and knows the market well. He presented this project to us. We approved it very quickly at the last strategic committee.
Ultimately, it’s quite virtuous and quite simple. I don’t believe there has been a change in intention or strategy.
We have distribution, production and a DMC. This DMC works locally with different partners, notably hoteliers. From there, opportunities of this type can arise.
We also know that we can market a portion of the capacities.
From the outside, this may seem very distant from us, but it feels quite natural. We move people, so owning a hotel isn’t completely unrelated to our activity.
We will not become hotel operators on a large scale, but we can periodically look at strategic opportunities. These are topics that increasingly interest us.
Published by Romain Pommier Journalist – TourMaG.com See all articles by Romain Pommier
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