The months come and go, closely resembling one another for the tourism sector, or nearly so.
After turning red in March, the situation hardly improved in April and seems to continue its downward slide in May. Indicators are not favorable for a large portion of the industry, and even players who seemed to be navigating fairly well are starting to struggle.
It must be said that the month just ending was not particularly favorable for travel agencies.
“There were many long weekends this year and, to be honest, there weren’t many bookings in travel agencies.
After that, it should be noted that we now work on a 12-month basis rather than four months. July and August no longer really count as peak season in distribution.
The worry is there, always, but as long as the financial year isn’t over, no one can draw conclusions. We risk a strong rebound in June, because travel remains an imperative for the French,” explains, optimistically, Richard Vainopoulos.
In terms of departures, Tourcom will post a slight -2% compared to May 2025. It’s a not-too-bad outcome.
And while the network head concedes that there wasn’t much of a crowd in the agencies and that the training helped keep the staff busy, the profession appears, at least in part, to gaze with concern at a backorder that isn’t taking off and jeopardizes, or even erases outright, the head start gained at the beginning of the year.
After turning red in March, the situation hardly improved in April and seems to continue its downward slide in May. Indicators are not favorable for a large portion of the industry, and even players who seemed to be navigating fairly well are starting to struggle.
It must be said that the month just ending was not particularly favorable for travel agencies.
“There were many long weekends this year and, to be honest, there weren’t many bookings in travel agencies.
After that, it should be noted that we now work on a 12-month basis rather than four months. July and August no longer really count as peak season in distribution.
The worry is there, always, but as long as the financial year isn’t over, no one can draw conclusions. We risk a strong rebound in June, because travel remains an imperative for the French,” explains, optimistically, Richard Vainopoulos.
In terms of departures, Tourcom will post a slight -2% compared to May 2025. It’s a not-too-bad outcome.
And while the network head concedes that there wasn’t much of a crowd in the agencies and that the training helped keep the staff busy, the profession appears, at least in part, to gaze with concern at a backorder that isn’t taking off and jeopardizes, or even erases outright, the head start gained at the beginning of the year.
Laurent Abitbol: “We are in the midst of a psychological crisis”
On Laurent Abitbol’s side, the slowdown in activity intensified again in May.“The situation is even worse in May than in April. We are seeing a sales trend around -25%.
Unfortunately, there is no improvement. I am not worried because we are resilient, but it must not last too long.
We are in a real psychological crisis.
This war and its impacts don’t encourage consumption, due to the news and the rise in fuel prices. So imagine travel, it’s double trouble… people don’t want to leave, explains the head of the Marietton group.
Last week, the businessman explained observing a 24% drop in orders between March and May. A drop that nearly erases all the gains recorded by Selectour agencies since the start of the year.
And the situation does not seem much better elsewhere. Because when the leader of French distribution grimaces, usually the industry isn’t in a better position, with one exception…
“The month of May is always complicated, it looks to be worse than 2025.
After that, we have a cushion compared to the rest of France, because our companies are often on the border with Germany or Luxembourg. The impact is therefore smaller.
We have clients who work in these countries, with higher salaries. Moreover, we also work with tour operators such as Luxair, which decided not to implement a fuel surcharge, but also with German and Belgian players.
To tell you the truth, Fensch Voyages has been at -6% since March. It’s a bit the trend in the Grand Est, we are far from the figures of our peers,
“I think the summer is dead unfortunately”
A little further north, Abou Fall, owner of three franchised TUI agencies, also slightly stands out from the market.
“It’s not catastrophic, but the momentum isn’t great either.
I still have one agency growing and two others in the red. There is, of course, a bit of worry, because the decline has been steady since March at my points of sale in negative territory.
At the end of February, we were +12% ahead for my group and, to date, we have moved into the negative, he tempers, having previously served as France sales director for the TUI network of franchised agencies before opening his own agencies.
And here closes the rather optimistic parenthetical of this article. For the other messages sent and calls made have yielded responses that contrast with these last two testimonies.
“One boss explains that the figures of the next EDV barometer should be very poorly oriented compared with April, already unfavourable. Another major executive tells us that his numbers are very bad, while a third estimates that this crisis is even worse than the Covid one.”
The anxiety is palpable, without giving in to panic.
“There is growing concern within the profession.
For us, we had quickly taken precautions, so we are limiting the damage. But, like everyone, we would like this not to last too long.
Personally, and I hope to be mistaken, I think the summer is dead unfortunately. Unless there is a rapid improvement in the situation, but at this moment there are too many threats weighing on consumers,” estimates Grégory Monna, director of travel activities at Chauchard Évasion – Voyages Triangle.
This assessment is shared by other leaders, with a few nuances, except for Laurent Abitbol.
“It’s not catastrophic, but the momentum isn’t great either.
I still have one agency growing and two others in the red. There is, of course, a bit of worry, because the decline has been steady since March at my points of sale in negative territory.
At the end of February, we were +12% ahead for my group and, to date, we have moved into the negative, he tempers, having previously served as France sales director for the TUI network of franchised agencies before opening his own agencies.
And here closes the rather optimistic parenthetical of this article. For the other messages sent and calls made have yielded responses that contrast with these last two testimonies.
“One boss explains that the figures of the next EDV barometer should be very poorly oriented compared with April, already unfavourable. Another major executive tells us that his numbers are very bad, while a third estimates that this crisis is even worse than the Covid one.”
The anxiety is palpable, without giving in to panic.
“There is growing concern within the profession.
For us, we had quickly taken precautions, so we are limiting the damage. But, like everyone, we would like this not to last too long.
Personally, and I hope to be mistaken, I think the summer is dead unfortunately. Unless there is a rapid improvement in the situation, but at this moment there are too many threats weighing on consumers,” estimates Grégory Monna, director of travel activities at Chauchard Évasion – Voyages Triangle.
This assessment is shared by other leaders, with a few nuances, except for Laurent Abitbol.
“Beaucoup d’acteurs sont en difficulté” et “l’activité partielle est refusée”… par l’État
Enfin, with one caveat, the Lyonnais believes that unblocking the Hormuz Strait might unlock everything.
“Leisure is in crisis, fortunately groups and business travel are holding up. As long as the strait remains closed and the war continues, it will be difficult to restart the engine.
We must wait for this to pass. We keep the back straight, it’s a long process.
We keep the teams occupied with training and other initiatives. For the moment, I am not overly worried about the profession. However, this could hurt the industry if it lasts over time.
And to restart activity, I oppose price cuts. Do not slash prices, nor advertise with such promotions, because that sends a bad message to customers. Then, we simply cannot sell at a loss,” argues the chair of the board of Selectour.
The solution lies in Donald Trump’s hands.
And while the American president seems to no longer know how to disentangle himself from this conflict, the Soccer World Cup is approaching rapidly. There is no doubt that a war between two participants in this very World Cup would be poorly viewed by the world press and could spoil the festivities.
Will this timing be favorable to a lasting peace between the United States and Iran? The days to come will tell us.
In the meantime, as sales begin to recover, professionals knock on the State’s door, which does not seem more concerned about the situation of travel agents.
“From what I hear in the sector, many players are in difficulty and some are extremely worried.”
And we are among them, because with such a May, we will not be able to cover the salaries of our employees. We are in a deep anxiety crisis, fueled by media coverage. There was the conflict in the Middle East, then the spike in oil prices, the fear of a kerosene shortage, the hantavirus on the cruise ship… and now, we are facing a heatwave.
Regarding partial unemployment, which is becoming a major topic of discussion, requests are refused within the industry, with only a few rare exceptions“, laments a business owner who preferred to remain anonymous.
“Leisure is in crisis, fortunately groups and business travel are holding up. As long as the strait remains closed and the war continues, it will be difficult to restart the engine.
We must wait for this to pass. We keep the back straight, it’s a long process.
We keep the teams occupied with training and other initiatives. For the moment, I am not overly worried about the profession. However, this could hurt the industry if it lasts over time.
And to restart activity, I oppose price cuts. Do not slash prices, nor advertise with such promotions, because that sends a bad message to customers. Then, we simply cannot sell at a loss,” argues the chair of the board of Selectour.
The solution lies in Donald Trump’s hands.
And while the American president seems to no longer know how to disentangle himself from this conflict, the Soccer World Cup is approaching rapidly. There is no doubt that a war between two participants in this very World Cup would be poorly viewed by the world press and could spoil the festivities.
Will this timing be favorable to a lasting peace between the United States and Iran? The days to come will tell us.
In the meantime, as sales begin to recover, professionals knock on the State’s door, which does not seem more concerned about the situation of travel agents.
“From what I hear in the sector, many players are in difficulty and some are extremely worried.”
And we are among them, because with such a May, we will not be able to cover the salaries of our employees. We are in a deep anxiety crisis, fueled by media coverage. There was the conflict in the Middle East, then the spike in oil prices, the fear of a kerosene shortage, the hantavirus on the cruise ship… and now, we are facing a heatwave.
Regarding partial unemployment, which is becoming a major topic of discussion, requests are refused within the industry, with only a few rare exceptions“, laments a business owner who preferred to remain anonymous.
