On board the Club Med 2, Convenc'Tour 2026 quickly got down to business. Facing the travel agencies, Valérie Boned, president of Les Entreprises du Voyage, and Patrice Caradec, president of SETO, delivered a frank assessment of the market. No reassuring platitudes here. Just figures, tensions, pricing opportunities, and above all, a clear message to distributors: they need to re-engage customers.
Summary
A market that is not lacking in desire, but in the spark that needs to be ignited
What I take away from this sequence is, first and foremost, the gap between the desire to travel and the act of actually doing so. Patrice Caradec summarized the situation by distinguishing the French people's "desire to buy" from a more constrained "purchasing power." That's the crux of the matter. The French haven't given up on travel, but they are making more choices, waiting longer, sometimes shortening their trips, comparing prices more thoroughly, and looking for the right moment to book.
Valérie Boned noted that the Orchestra Travel Companies Barometer showed a 21% drop in bookings at the end of May. Patrice Caradec, from SETO (the French travel agency network), presented a slightly less bleak picture: -20% in March, -18% in April, and -16% in May. It's not a rebound, but it's not a complete collapse either. The market remains fragile, but it's still alive.
The real warning sign: the decline of B2B
The most interesting information for agencies isn't just the drop in sales. It's the difference between B2B and B2C. Patrice Caradec put it clearly: "There was a real downturn in B2B, while B2C performed better." He also indicated that when orders fell by around 20%, B2B could drop to around -30%, whereas B2C held up much better, at around -10%.
For travel agencies, this point must be taken very seriously. It's no longer enough to simply wait for clients to walk through the door. Patrice Caradec emphasized a simple reflex: re-establish contact, leverage client databases, analyze data, call travelers back, and rekindle the desire in the relationship. In other words, the agency must become proactive in its sales efforts, not just reactive.
His message to salespeople was direct: "Be resilient." Behind this phrase, Patrice Caradec primarily urged agencies to take the initiative: to actively manage their databases, contact clients, optimize their data, and reignite interest. In a period of reduced branch traffic, the client portfolio becomes a strategic asset.
Pricing opportunities to be shared
Patrice Caradec also opened an interesting window for distributors, mentioning pricing opportunities he said he had "never seen in his forty-year career." According to him, these offers do not stem from a deliberate collapse of tour operators' margins, but from the service providers themselves: airlines, hotels, and destination management companies, all seeking to fill their bookings in a sluggish European market.
This point changes the commercial perspective. It's not about "slashing prices" on the trip. It's about transforming a market situation into a compelling customer argument: quality, availability, adjusted prices, good departure windows, opportunities in June, July, August, or even September. For a travel agency, this is concrete material to use immediately in its follow-up efforts.
The client isn't necessarily against leaving. Sometimes they need to be given a reason to decide. That's where the travel advisor becomes essential.
The touchy subject: why tour operators are also going live
The most frank exchange came later, when the question of tour operators' B2C business was raised. Adriana Minchella reiterated an obvious point for agencies: "We are distributors. We are your distributors." Patrice Caradec responded directly: the development of direct sales also addresses, in his view, a need for cash flow to continue sourcing quality products. "It's blunt, but it's the reality," he admitted.
This statement deserves to be heard, even if it might be irritating. It reveals a deep tension within the model: tour operators need cash to secure the right products, agencies need competitive products to sell, and customers want price, security, and flexibility. If everyone stays in their own lane, the system becomes rigid. If producers and distributors truly communicate, there may be a new value proposition to rebuild.
This is where the Convenc'Tour 2026 becomes interesting. The theme of balance doesn't remain theoretical. It directly impacts the relationship between those who create the trip and those who sell it.
What agencies can do right now
The key message for professionals is very concrete. First, don't wait. Second, work on your customer data. Finally, don't reduce sales to a question of price. Pricing opportunities exist, but they must be accompanied by a compelling narrative: why start now, where to start, what guarantees are offered, what support is available, and what added value does the agency bring?.
Patrice Caradec also highlighted a very concrete shift in customer behavior: travelers are adjusting the length of their vacations to their budget, with a trend towards shorter trips, often opting for shorter distances. For travel agencies, this means adapting their offerings: more flexible durations, more accessible destinations, better-targeted departures, family packages, and more manageable package deals. Dynamic packaging, staggered departure dates, and shorter trip formats can become effective sales strategies.
Key takeaways for professionals
- The market is fragile, but not dead : the desire to travel still exists, but it needs to be reactivated.
- B2B is falling behind more than B2C : agencies need to take the commercial initiative again.
- Customer files are a priority : follow up, segment, personalize, call back, reassure.
- Pricing opportunities exist : they need to be transformed into clear and desirable proposals.
- The tour operator-agency relationship needs to be re-evaluated : cash, sourcing, distribution, value and trust must be discussed frankly and openly.
- The role of the travel advisor is once again central : not just to sell, but to create the spark.
More to come with InfosTourisme
InfosTourisme continues its coverage of the Convenc'Tour 2026 aboard the Club Med 2. Analysis, interviews, short videos, and highlights will be shared throughout the event on our LinkedIn page. To stay up-to-date with this live coverage, follow us here: InfosTourisme on LinkedIn.
Updates
June 16, 2026: article published after the EDV / SETO sequence of the Convenc'Tour 2026 on board the Club Med 2.
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