Champions

Traditionally, TourCom opens the travel industry’s autumn season for distributors with a workshop that brings together the receptive operators with whom the network of travel agencies collaborates, a few days before the IFTM trade show.

2026 did not escape the rule, with several innovations. First, the presence of the press, as its president Richard Vainopoulos—who had been discreet for several years—decided to speak up more frequently.

Moreover, this year TourCom makes a double move, with a first day that allowed agencies to meet the referenced TOs, and a second devoted to the receptives.

Fifty receptives were present in Paris for the occasion out of a total of 85, coming to meet 200 agencies and underscoring their growing influence. “With hotel reservation consolidators, they account for about 15% of our leisure sales, which total 800 million euros,” recalled Richard Vainopoulos.

And to specify that TourCom was the first to reference this offer, both to meet demand when TOs were fully booked and also to stand out with tailor-made products, differentiating themselves—especially from those available online—and delivering higher margins.

He also reminded, during his opening speech to members, that “to margin” is not a dirty word.

“It is the basis of good management, the fair compensation of our know-how. In the future commissions will be limited. Tomorrow, agencies that know how to margin and sell TOs with added value will be the winners.”

Read also: TourCom confirms its European ambitions

“It’s better to sell less, but better. That’s what helped us get through the summer. Selling on price can put your business at risk. The quality of service is essential to differentiate from the web players who sell in bulk to profit without caring about the rest.”

And to commend its members and, more broadly, the network, for showing resilience, demonstrating a strong ability to respond to repatriate customers stranded around the world.

“Tech players dream only of erasing us, but we are still here, with mastery of ever more tools that make us unique. France is one of the few countries where there is still a fear of charging for service.”

Richard Vainopoulos also used the workshop to share his vision for tomorrow’s challenges and sector mutations.

Taking a swipe at a few players: a competing network that looks like a frog trying to be bigger than the ox, or the Protourisme consultancy whose summer forecasts he brands as alarmist and calls for necessary caution regarding the stream of information on television.

“From now on, we sell trips for 12 months; summer is no longer the peak season. We have had many last-minute bookings, with impressive dossiers. In the end, the annual balance sheet is what counts.”

If he believes that, in today’s anxiety-inducing context, the tourism industry is doing fairly well – “I am not worried about the future of agencies,” he stressed – he does not overlook the ongoing transformations, notably technological ones.

Beginning with AI, which can prove effective for saving time but will not replace the agencies.

Besides pointing out that it is a heavy consumer of energy and natural resources, with by 2030 a water demand equivalent to the consumption of 1.3 billion people, he emphasizes the importance of not taking the easy route.

“AI can err, with potential early disputes. Be careful not to believe everything. And with too much AI, the risk is to banalize its proposals in the face of competition. Your strength lies in added value,” he states.

Which, Richard Vainopoulos hopes, will make a difference in an environment that remains highly competitive, and attract even more new members.

The network currently lists 855 points of sale in France to date, up from 850 at the start of the year, with the agencies in Belgium and Luxembourg to be added.

Richard Vainopoulos announces around fifteen new arrivals, against four resignations and a few removals for financial or ethical reasons, and hopes for a slight growth in business volume in 2026, driven in particular by business travel.