Padel Tour: Club Med Leaves Its Villages to Meet Padel Players


Padel Tour : Club Med sort de ses villages pour aller à la rencontre des pratiquants - Photo EG

CroisiEurope


“ Sport is part of Club Med’s DNA.” recalled Stéphane Maquaire, Chief Executive Officer of Club Med, who launched his Padel Tour in partnership with Babolat on Friday, October 2, in the presence of the press.

The group today offers more than 60 sports activities within its villages, including padel, which has been part of its offering for more than two decades.

Today, there are 55 courts in 17 villages, the CEO noted. In the face of the sport’s rapid growth, the group now aims to expand its presence beyond its resorts.

Let’s step outside our villages and meet those who already practice padel, explains Stéphane Maquaire. The objective is to establish a link with this community and, ultimately, to offer more activities and tournaments within Club Med villages.



Stéphane Maquaire, PDG du Club Med  et Eric Babolat le DG de la marque Babolat lancent le Club Med Padel Tour - Photo EG

This is how the idea of the Club Med Padel Tour came into being. The event will be organized across nine European countries, with several stops in France and engagements in Asia. The competition will culminate in Marbella in March, at a village that features eight padel courts.

The group relies on its partnership with Babolat, which has lasted for more than twenty years. The two companies have, in particular, developed equipment tailored for children to enable family-friendly padel.

“This is a new step: Club Med moves beyond its walls, beyond its villages to engage with its current and future customers,” summarizes Maquaire, who adds that the sport is experiencing strong growth worldwide, with 35 million players. In France, the number of players is also expected to reach one million.

NAAR Voyages: Marco Guaramonti Leaves the Tour Operator


Marco Guaramonti quitte NAAR Voyages - TB

Aer Lingus


A chapter closes for NAAR Voyages.

The tour operator has recently experienced the departures of Stéphane Michaut, followed by the departure of Marco Guaramonti.

In 2022, after the false start of September 2019, NAAR Voyages became a reality. The Italian tour operator actually landed in France, led by Marco Guaramonti.

Nearly six years after this arrival thwarted by the health crisis, “the head of NAAR France left, on September 30, 2026, by mutual agreement with the management”, explains a press release.

“I thank Marco for his commitment and contribution to the development of NAAR in France.

We have built together strong relationships with our teams and our partner agencies. I have every confidence in
Olivier to continue this work and support the next step of our development in the French market“, says Frédéric Naar, CEO of the NAAR group.


The new head is a well-known figure in the industry, but also to the tour operator’s teams, as it is Olivier Dewit, the current head of Benelux.

To read : Naar Voyages lands (finally) in France before conquering Europe !

A new leader who isn’t new to the industry, having spent ten years as head of business development at EurAm.

He will be tasked with expanding NAAR’s presence in the French market, strengthening relationships with partner agencies and defining the commercial priorities of this new phase.