In March this year, Cresta organised an educational to Paris for 10 Travelworld agents. The group travelled with British Midland and stayed at the L’Horset Opera. They toured all the key sites and spent a night at the Paradis Latin live show. They took the Bateaux Mouche river cruise and sampled the delights of street cafes and restaurants. We asked three of the agents for their impressions before and after the trip.
Before: I had been to Paris once before when I was seven with my mum and dad and remembered going up the Eiffel Tower and to the major attractions. We get quite a bit of interest in city breaks and sell Eurostar packages from here, but this is an old mining village and most of our clients are fairly down to earth and want a basic bucket-and-spade kind of holidays. I thought of Paris as primarily a romantic, sight-seeing destination and I don’t often get the chance to sell it.
After: I was very impressed with Cresta and with British Midland. Everything went exactly to plan and the representatives were really fantastic – very knowledgeable about Paris and extremely helpful. Paris is excellent for a city break – it looks really lovely and there is quite a special atmosphere about the place. There is masses to see and do and I would definitely go back for a romantic weekend if I got the chance. I think the highlight for me was the evening Paradis Latin show. It was pretty expensive but it was something quite different and I would certainly recommend it now.
Kathryn Hill, Manager, Travelworld, Conisbrough, Age: 21
Before: I had never been to Paris and wasn’t that mad keen to go because I felt it was such a popular place that it would be incredibly touristy. We sell a lot of city breaks to Paris and I just felt it was a bit of a boring choice in a way, a place everyone went to so not that special. I imagined that like many places which are popular, it would be very commercialised and a bit over-rated. I had travelled in other parts of France a fair bit and loved the food and the countryside so I was interested to have a look at Paris to broaden my knowledge of the country as a whole.
After: Paris is fabulous and I was quite wrong about it being over touristy. The lovely architecture and beautiful buildings really surprised me and the general cosmopolitan atmosphere was wonderful – really chic. The highlight for me was going up the Eiffel Tower – it’s what every tourist does but it didn’t disappoint me, it was incredible. I saw Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe but there was so much more I didn’t have time for. It is very easy to get around and explore and there are plenty of lovely street cafes and restaurants. I’m not into beach holidays and would be happy there for a fortnight – if clients really want to see it all I would definitely recommend a longer stay.
Eileen Allan, Manager, Travelworld, Timperley, Cheshire, Age: 43
Before: I had been to Paris once before with my husband on a trip to the races and that had been great fun so I was keen to go again. I knew the kind of thing to expect – the atmosphere and the fact there is a lot to see and do. We sell a lot of packages to Paris – mostly to couples, some on coach trips to the races and, of course, families to Disneyland Paris. I had always found that educationals helped you sell a destination better – you have so much more enthusiasm for the place.
After: This was a very good trip. The key attraction of Paris is surely the amount of things you can see and do. The shops, museums and sights are all excellent. I had not done the river cruise before and was a little disappointed with it. I think it would be a nice evening dinner cruise, when everything is lit up, but by day you really only see the back of all the sights so they are not as impressive as when you walk up to them or tour in a coach. In contrast, the Paradis Latin evening show was much better than I had expected and is definitely worth recommending.
Ann Clapham, Manager, Travelworld, Thorne, South Yorkshire, Age: 48